BX 7321 

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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 



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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



THE 



Christian Worker 



— A— 



PRACTICAL MANUAL 



FOR 



Preachers and Church Officials. 



by / 

DK. JOS. H. FOY, 

Pastor Fourth Christian Church, St. Louis, Mo. 



— A2S5V — 



ST. LOUIS : 

CHRISTIAN PUBLISHING COMPANY. 

1889. 



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copyrighted, 1890, by 
Christian Publishing Company, 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 

Affliction - - - - 9 

Benediction - - - - - - - - - - 13 

Baptism— 

Baptism Formulas - - 16 

Notes of a Sermon on Baptism - - - - 17 

Children 18 

Christmas -------.--- 25 

Consolation 27 

•Collections 31 

Church of God 33 

Deacons ----- 35 

Dedication of CnuRpH 39 

Elders, or Bishops 48 

Evangelists 52 

Easter 57 

Euneral Services 62 

Giving 85 

Literary Societies - 87 

Lord's Supper 88 

Marriage 97 

Missions - 108 

Miscellaneous Ill 

Mottoes 114 

New Year 116 

Organization of a Church 121 

Ordination — 

Of an Evangelist - -. - - - . - - 123 

Ot an Elder or Bishop 125 

Of Deacons 126 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 

Official Board - ■ 127 

Order ik Worship - - - 128 

Preachers and Preaching 130 

Prayer and Prayer-meetings - - - . - - 141 

Remarks on Special Occasions 145 

Recitations for Funerals 150 

Sunday-school - - - - 156 

Suggested Subjects 158 

Temperance - - - - - 163- 

The Disciples of Christ 166 

Thanksgiving - ig8 

Regulations for Deliberative Assemblies - - - 177 



AFFLICTION. 

[See Consolation.] 



I. 

Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither 
doth trouble spring out of the ground; yet man is born unto 
trouble, as the sparks fly upward. I would seek unto God, and 
unto God would I commit my cause: who doeth great things 
and unsearchable; marvelous things without number. — Job 5: 
6-9. 

Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O Lord, and 
teachest him out of thy law; that thou mayest give him rest 
from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the 
wicked. For the Lord will not cast off his people, neither will 
he forsake his inheritance. But judgment shall return unto 
righteousness: and all the upright in heart shall follow it. — 
Psa. 9^:12-15. 

I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that thou 
in faithfulness hast afflicted me. Let, I pray thee, thy merciful 
kindness be for my comfort, according to thy word unto thy 
servant.— Psa. 119: 75, 76. 

Prepare thy heart, and stretch out thy hands toward him ; if 
iniquity be in thy hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness 
dwell in thy tabernacles. 

For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou 
shalt be steadfast, and shalt not fear : 

Because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as 
waters that pass away: 

9 



10 AFFLICTION. 



And thy age shall be clearer than the noonday; thou shalt 
shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning. And thou shalt be 
secure, because there is hope; yea, thou shalt dig about thee, 

and thou shalt take thy rest in safety. 

Also thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid. — 
Job 11:13-19. 

Be not thou far from me, O Lord : O my strength, haste 
thee to help me, 

Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to 
help. 

Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst 
deliver them. 

They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in 
thee, and were not confounded. 

For he hath not despised nor abhorred the afflictions of the 
afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he 
cried unto him, he heard. — From the 22nd Psalm. 

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? 
The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be 
afraid? 

For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in 
the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me 
upon a rock. 

I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of 
the Lord in the land of the living. 

Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall 
strengthen thy heart: wait, I say, on the Lord. — From the #*1h 
Psalm. 

Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at 
the remembrance of his holiness. 

For his anger endure th but a moment; in his favor is life: 
weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the 
morning. Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me: Lord, 
be thou my helper. Thou hast turned for me my mourning 



AFFLICTION. 



11 



into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me 
With gladness; 

To the end that my glory [tongue] may sing praise unto thee, 
and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thauks unto 
thee forever. — From the 30th Psalm. 



II. 

In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust; let me never be 
ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness. 

I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast 
considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adver- 
sities; 

And hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy: thou 
hast set my feet in a large room. 

Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am in trouble: mine eye 
is consumed with grief. 

For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: 
my strength faileth because of my iniquity, and my bones are 
consumed. 

Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for 
them that fear thee. 

Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the 
pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from 
the strife of tongues. Blessed be the Lord: for he hath shewed 
me his marvelous kindness in a strong city. 

For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: 
nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when 
I cried unto thee. 

O love the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lord preserve th 
the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer. 

Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all 
ye that hope in the Lord. — From the 31st Psalm. 

Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from 
trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliv- 
erance. 



12 AFFLICTION. 



This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved 
him out of all his troubles. 

The Angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that 
fear him, and delivereth them. 

The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them 
out of all their troubles. 

The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and 
saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. 

Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord 
delivereth him out of them all. 

The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of 
them that trust in him shall be desolate. — From 32nd and 34th 
Psalms. 

I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou 
art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God. 

All thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. 

Yet the Lord will command his loving kindness in the 
daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my 
prayer unto the God of my life. Why art thou cast down, O 
my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou 
in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my 
countenance, and my God. 

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in 
trouble. 

Therefore will we not fear, though the earth be removed, 
and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. 
The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. 
— From the 40th , 42 d and 46th Psalms. 



BENEDICTIONS. 13 



BENEDICTIONS. 



[All services of a public religious character should be closed 
with prayer or benediction. Better still, if time permit, with 
prayer and benediction.] 

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and 
the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. — 
2 Cor. IS : U. 

Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our 
Lord Jesus, that Great Shepherd of the sheep, through the 
blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every 
good work to do his will, working in you that which is well 
pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory 
for ever and ever. Amen. — Heb. 13 : 20, 21. 

Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to 
present you faultless before the presence of his glory with 
exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior, be glory 
and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. 
—Jude 2k, 25. 

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. 
—Rev. 22:21. 

The Lord bless you, and keep you : 

The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious 
unto you : 

The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you 
peace. Amen. — Num. 6 : 24-26. 



14 BAPTISM. 



BAPTISM. 



I. 

Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be 
baptized of him. 

But John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized of 
thee, and comest thou to me? 

And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: 
for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he 
suffered him. 

And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out 
of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and 
he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting 
upon him : and lo, a voice from heaven, saying, This is my 
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. — Matt. 3 : 13-17. 

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is 
given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and 
teach all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, 
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit : 

Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have 
commanded you : and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the 
end of the world. Amen.— Matt. 28 : 18-20. 

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach 
the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is bap- 
tized, shall be saved ; but he that believeth not, shall be 
damned.— Mark 16 : 16. 

But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God 
against themselves, being not baptized of him [John]. — Luke 

7:30. 

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a 
man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into 
the kingdom of God. — John 3 : 5. 



BAPTISM. 15 



After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land 
of Judaea ; and there he tarried with them, and [the disciples] 
baptized. 

And John also was baptizing in iEnon near to Salim, because 
there was much water there : and they came, and were 
baptized.— John 3 : 22, 23. 

II. 

And Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized every one 
of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, 
and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 

Then they that gladly received his word were baptized : and 
the same day were added unto them about three thousand 
souls.— Acts 2: 38,41. 

But when they believed Philip preaching the things con- 
cerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, 
they were baptized, both men and women. — Acts 8 : 12. 

Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same 
scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on 
their way, they came unto a certain water : and the eunuch 
said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? 
And Philip said, If thou believest with all thy heart, thou 
mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus 
Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to 
stand still : and they went down both into the water, both 
Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they 
were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught 
away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more : and he went 
on his way rejoicing. — Acts 8 : 35-39. 

III. 

Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on 
the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shall be saved, and thy house. 
And they spake unto him the Word of the Lord, and to all 
that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of 
the night, and washed their stripes ; and was baptized, he and 



16 BAPTISM. 



all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his 
house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God 
with all his house. — Acts 16 : 30-34. 

And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on 
the Lord with all his house ; and many of the Corinthians hear- 
ing, believed, and were baptized. — Acts 18:8. 

And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash 
away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. — Acts 22: 16. 

Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus 
Christ, were baptized into his death? Therefore we are bur- 
ied with him by baptism into death : that like as Christ was 
raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we 
also should walk in newness of life. — Bom. 6:3, 4. 

Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with 
him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised 
him from the dead.— -Col. 2: 12. 

For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 
For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have 

put on Christ,— Gal. 3: 26, 27. 



BAPTISMAL FORMULAS. 

By the authority of the Glorified Head of the church, I bap- 
tize thee (using the given name of the candidate, or the words, 
"my brother," "my sister," "my child,") into the name of the 
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

In obedience to the Great Commission, and upon profession 
of your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, I baptize thee (using the 
given name of the candidate, or some other designation,) into 
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. 
Amen. 

Upon the confession of your faith in Jesus as the Christ, the 



BAPTISM. 



17 



Son of Gocl, and your Savior, I baptize thee into the name of 
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

Upon your profession of " repentance toward God and of 
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ," I baptize you into the name of 
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

Note. — Every congregation should have a baptistery in the 
church edifice, and it should be located in full view of the audi- 
ence. Care should be taken in its construction to have it made 
sufficiently deep and long. Otherwise the impressive effect of 
the ordinance will be greatly marred, if not wholly destroyed. 
To hear the loud slap when a tall man is " buried "in less than 
two feet of water, and to see a preacher struggling to raise him 
to an erect posture again, are provocative of laughter even 
in the saints. The writer has had humiliating experiences in a 
certain baptistery in this city. Let there be kept on hand a 
supply of well-leaded robes for both sexes. And it is well to 
remember that Christ did not say, He that believeth and is bap- 
tized in cold water shall be saved. Every congregation which 
can afford a baptistery at all should have a heating apparatus 
attached. The cost is trifling. "Let everything be done de- 
cently and in order," and we beg leave to suggest, in addition, 
"comfortably." 



NOTES OF A SERMON ON BAPTISM. 

I. By whom authorized. Matt. 28: 18, 19. 

II. An ancient type of baptism. 1 Cor. 10: 1, 2. 

III. Proper subjects of baptism. Mark 16: 15, 16; Heb. 11: 6; 
Acts 8:36, 37. 

IV. The proper action of baptism. 

1. Instances: Mark 1: 5; Matt. 3:16; John 3:23; Acts 8:38, 39. 

2. Allusions: Heb. 10:21,22; Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12; 1 Cor 
15:29. 

(2) 



18 CHILDREN. 



V. The use or design of baptism. 

1. Initiatory. Rom. 6: 3; Gal. 3: 27; John 3: 5; 1 Cor. 12: 13. 

2. Declarative of faith. Acts 2:41; Acts 16: 14, 15. 

3. Pledge of forgiveness. Markl6:16; Acts 2:38; 1 Pet, 3:21; 
Acts 22: 16. 

VI. It is a solemn pledge to live a holy life. Rom. 6:4,5; 
2 Cor. 5:17; Col. 3:1-3. 

VII. It shows forth the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, 
as the Supper does his death; and is therefore a constant wit- 
ness of his death. 1 John 5:8. 

VIII. There is danger of our losing the everlasting reward, 
even though we have 

(a) Believed in God (Heb. 11 : 6). 

(b) Repented toward God. 

(c) Believed in Jesus. 

(d) Deliberately renounced sin. 

(e) Made the good confession. 

(f) And been baptized by Christ's authority, if we continue 
not in watchfulness and prayer. 1 Cor. 10: 1-12. 



CHILDREN. 



And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the 
midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be 
converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into 
the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble 
himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom 
of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my 
name, receiveth me. — Matt. IS : 2-5. 

Then there were brought unto him little children, that he 
should put his hands on them, and pray; and the disciples 
rebuked them. But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and for- 



CHILDREN. 19 



bid them not, to come unto me; for of such is the kingdom of 
heaven.— Matt. 19 :13, X£. 

[See also Mark 9: 36, 37; Mark 10: 13-16; Luke 9: 47, 48; Luke 
18:15-17.] 

Note. — A pastor who neglects the children of his nock is an 
unwise man. Their friendship and love are essential to his 
highest success. If by lack of tact, or by apparent indifference 
to them, he should excite their prejudice or aversion, his useful- 
ness is greatly imperilled, if not ended, in that community. 
They distribute lavishly their praises or their unfavorable 
opinions, and the effect is speedy and marked. They are quick 
to discern a genuine interest in them and gratefully repay it. 
It is not necessary to cater to their whims or to indulge them 
overmuch in order to win them to your steadfast support. A 
cheerful, sunny-hearted man, who is gently authoritative in 
speech and manner, and who resolutely abstains from all petu- 
lance and scolding, can win and hold the children of his charge. 
A man who does not love children should seriously question his 
right to remain in the ministry. To the young preachers I 
would say, in all seriousness, cultivate your love for children 
and for young people. Try to get into hearty sympathy with 
them. Have a cordial smile for all, and don't be too dignified 
and reserved in your intercourse with them. Shake hands all 
around and cultivate your memory for names. Children, even 
more than their elders, appreciate such recognition as shows 
that you have kept them in friendly remembrance. If I see the 
young dodging the pastor " on his round through the town," or 
showing a decided inclination to "skip out" when they see him 
entering the front gate of their homes, I reach the conclusion 
at once that he has not commended the Christian religion to 
their favorable regard. Perhaps he has been strict to strait- 
ness; perhaps has relied upon ridicule and sarcasm instead of 
rational argument and loving persuasion. Children loved Jesus 
when he walked the earth, and they love all who are like Jesus 
now. Your indifference to children may depend upon an 



20 CHILDREN. 



abnormal development of certain characteristics which need 
pruning and repressing. Or the real feeling, of which you 
may be capable under healthful stimulation, may, as yet, be 
latent. Begin at once, and act by force of will and by steady 
method as you would like to act from loving spontaneity of 
choice. Strive persistently and consistently to seem what you 
would like regnantly to be, and the desirable and proper state 
of the heart will, in satisfactory measure, come and dominate 
you by and by. 

Preach little sermons to them now and then. Let your talks 
be carefully studied and profusely illustrated. Use the black- 
board to a certain extent. 

You can say in fifteen minutes all that a child can relish or 
retain. Keep on your study table the two volumes of Foster's 
Prose Illustrations. I give a list of books which I have found 
helpful : 

" Living Water for Little Pitchers," by Rev. J. Stephens; 
" Sermons to Children,'' by Rev. John Todd; " Talks to Boys 
and Girls About Jesus," by W. F. Crafts; " Children's Meetings 
and how to Conduct Them," by Lucy J. Rider and Nellie M. 
Carman; "Ross's Sermons to Children." 

I give a few specimen outlines of sermons to children : 

SERMON TO CHILDREN.— NO. 1. 

Text : " The flowers appear on the earth."— Song of Solomon 2 : 12. 

Picture a child making a beautiful bouquet of spring flowers, 
and then standing before it and saying, ''Pretty flowers, what 
have you to say to me ? " 

They cannot talk as we do, but they have a voice — a mean- 
ing — and let us try to hear it. You have heard of the language 
of flowers? What is the language or voice of the rose? Of the 
lily? Of the violet? Of the honey-suckle? Of the geranium, 
etc.? Now, children, you understand what I mean. 

Let us listen to the answer of the flowers, then, to the ques- 
tioning child : 



CHILDREN. 21 



1. " God kept us safe all winter through." 

Leaves dropped off, plants died down ; but God took care of 
root and bulb. In God's hands we were safe. 

Now, children, we are trying to teach you here to put your- 
selves in God's keeping. Where else do you learn this lesson? 
What is the little prayer you first learned? Who can repeat it? 
Hands up. 

Learn this lesson of God's love and care and you will be 
ready for the winter of life. What is the winter of life? Who 
can tell? etc. 

2. Another voice : " We came as soon as we felt God's smile." 
Illustration : Mother conies in the morning and wakes her 

little children with a kiss. Spring sunshine, God's smile and 
kiss. The birds and flowers awake. 

The secret of a beautiful and noble life is, getting and keep- 
ing the smile of God. How can we get it? How keep it? 

3. Another voice : "It is hard work, but we are trying to do 
our best." 

Every little flower has a fight to open and grow. Soil hard, 
insects abound. It has to be feeding and struggling, and hold- 
ing on, and reaching out, and pushing upward, and growing 
continually. It must keep on and up, or die. 

So the flowers say, You must not mind if you do find it hard 
to be good. They say : 

11 If at first you don't succeed, 
Try, try again." 

Who can repeat a verse of this poem? Yes, they say, "Try 
again, and God will help you." 

4. Another voice : " We are each doing earnestly our own 
part." 

The flowers are not all alike, not equally pretty, not equally 
fragrant. Their variety is their charm. But they seem to say: 

" All of us can be pure, all of us can be beautiful, all of us 
can carry a message from God, and some of us can be fragrant, 
too." 

So, children, listen to the message of the flowers. Be pure, 
beautiful, useful. 



22 CHILDREN, 



Jesus is called the " Rote of Sharon and the Lily of the Val- 
ley." 

SERMOX TO CHILDREN.— XO. 2. 

Text: "First the blade."— Mark 4: 8& 

What makes the blade (of Indian corn, e.g.) interesting to 
us'? Just this: it has in it a large promise. 

You stand by a held shining all over with green blades — no 
ears, no flowers, no grains, no full corn in the ears — only blades 
as yet. 

They are just like you. children, only beginning their life. 

I. At present ohlt blades. 

And what can blades do'? Guess. Guess again. I will tell 
you: They can be good and grow. 

God's law is. first the blade. Some wish we all were made at 
once grown up men and women. What would earth be with- 
out children? 

Some children want to learn all at once. Better not. Tell 
me the benefit of study, toil, difficulty. 

Some people want to be full-grown Christians all at once. 
Better God's way, first : e: (a) A little child's piety; 

a youth's piety: (c) a man's or woman's piety. 

A child should be a good child; just as a blade should be a 
good blade. 

II. Soon there will be longer blades. 

If the blades _ »uld talk, and you were to ask them what they 
were doing, they would say: "Making haste to grow and be 
useful, and feed and gladden some hearts." 

What are you doing, children? You must grow into an 
(a) honor to God and a joy to men; or. (b) a shame to God and 
a curse to men. 

What kinds of men and women honor (glorify,) God and bless 
men? 

Mention those or some of them who are curses to men. 
Which do you wish to grow to be? 

How does the farmer try to make his blades greener, stronger, 



CHILDREN. 



23 



better? So we are trying here in the Sunday-school to make 
you better. Will you help us? How may you help us? 



Text : 
sheep."- 



SERMON TO CHILDREN.— NO. 3. 

"I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd giveth his life for the 
-John 10: 14. 



I. The figure of " sheep " suits us. They are silly animals. 
Why? 

1. They cannot guide their own way. Must have a shep- 
herd. A dog, or a wolf, or a tiger, needs no shepherd. 

2. Sheep cannot keep or defend themselves. They are help- 
less when frightened, and would as soon run over a cliff as not. 

3. They quickly follow a leader, even though he set a bad 
example. 

4. They are exposed to many dangers. Some of them. 

II. Word " shepherd " suits Christ. He cares for, watches, 
guides, defends us. 

1. A shepherd must be strong, to carry and defend us. 
Christ is strong. How do we know? 

2. A shepherd must be wise, to guide to suitable food. Is 
Christ wise? How do you know? 

3. A shepherd must be watchful, to quickly see our foes. Is 
Christ watchful? How do you know? 

4. A shepherd must be gentle and loving, to meet the needs 
of lambs and weary ones. Is Christ loving and gentle? How 
do you know? 

III. Why is Jesus called the u Good " Shepherd? 

He gave his life a ransom for us. He left Heaven and toiled 
and suffered in mortal flesh for us. We ought to be grateful to 
him, and try to serve him. 

IV. If he is the Good Shepherd we ought to be "good 
sheep. " What are good sheep? 

1. Such as listen for the Shepherd's voice. 

2. Such as listen to (obey) the Shepherd's voice. 

3. Such as keep close to the Good Shepherd. 

<c My sheep hear my voice, and they follow me." 



24 CHILDREN. 



SERMON TO CHILDREN.— NO. 4. 
Seven *• Mts-ds." 

1. Mind Tour tongue! Don't let it speak hasty, cruel, un- 
woi 1 g 

2. Mi:: :". 7: v.: '-:y^s! Don't permit them :: see wicked : : : :ks. 
pictures, h : ther : bjects 

■>.' Don': suffer them to listen tc wicked 
speeches, songs, m w : : is 

4. Mind 7 ::: ' _. : Dorht let tobaece ful them, nor strong 
irink r ass them. 

5. Mind your ^ D ;n't let them steal. )r light, or write 
evil woi la 

Mind your jcil! Don't let them walk in the steps :: the 
ked. 
7. Mind von: Dtn't let the love :: sin iweU in it. 

Pttt Christ in it tc u^p it. 

SERMON TO CHILDREN -NO. 5. 

What Boys Should Be. 

1. Be true — be genuine. I:r opposite to this 1st: '■;- false 
in heart and counterfeit in life. Speak :: the evils of counter- 
feit food (adulterated), counter: :: medicines, counter: 
mc: iterfeit people. 

2. Be pure in thought speech — pure in mind and body. A 
bt in olden times had : : : y c at ' ' unclean *' when fa 

Dgmen that they might avoid touching him. So a man or 
rfuD : smutty stories .:. > ought to be f orced to cry 

44 ur 

3. Be nnselfish C ire : 1 the feelings of others. Be resj - ::• 
ful and polite. Treat h lies and the aged es] ith con- 
sideration. Give up 7 : seat to them. L> j not ush, 
jostle. Be just, gene:;:.-, noble, manly. Reverence things 
- a : 1 . 

4. Be self-reliant and self-helpful. Be industrious always 

>rtang at the earliest propei age. All honest work 



CHRISTMAS. 25 



is honorable, and an idle, useless life of dependence on others 
is disgraceful. 

Summary. — Be genuine; be pure; be unselfish; be self -help- 
ful. These four properly mastered will bring all the rest of the 
virtues. 



CHRISTMAS. 



Christmas celebrates a gift,— God's gift to the world,— and 
the world commemorates it with a grand festival of gift-giving. 
The custom is beautiful and beneficent. How commonly, how- 
ever, is our giving confined to those who will remember us ! 
Christmas is indeed a day for home and friends. But it is pre- 
eminently a day for remembering the homeless and the friend- 
less. The Christmas-giving which does not include in its bene- 
factions those who can only pay in "thanks, the exchequer of 
the poor," is not true to the spirit of the Christ. Let us not 
forget God's poor, those children of his who are always with 
us. On Christmas day the world in all Christian countries is 
full of good wishes and good-will. Men and women are gener- 
ous, amiable, considerate, courteous, and happy in that finest 
way, — in the happiness of others. 

The song of the angels comes to us as a benediction granted 
and a prophecy fulfilled, as the Christ-child's festival rolls 
around the world. A person must have a positive genius for 
misery and meanness who can withstand everybody's good 
wishes for his happiness. Selfishness is ashamed of itself, or 
ought to be, when the very air is full of love and thoughtful- 
ness for others. If these holiday influences are so blessed for 
a day or a week, why are they not good for a year and for all 
time? Let us pitch our whole life nearer to the key of the 
Christmas strain. 

The religious observance of Christmas does not prevail in all 



26 CHRISTMAS. 



religious bodies, but the custom of drawing lessons from the 
birthday of our Lord on Christmas day, or the Sunday next 
preceding, is becoming universal. A few outlines are pre- 
sented: 

The Advent of the Messiah. 

1. Importance is attached in Scripture to the knowledge of 
Christ. John 17:3; Phil. 3:8-11. It cannot be unimportant, 
then, to see what is revealed to us concerning his coming into 
the world, and the objects of his coming. 

2. Birth of Jesus pre-announced. Luke 2:35. 

3. What he was called. Matt. 2: 23; Matt. 1: 25. 

4. Why he was called Jesus. Matt. 1: 21. 

5. Circumstances of a remarkable character attending his' 
•birth and infancy. Luke 2:8-14; Matt. 2:1,2; Luke 2:25-32; 
2:36-38. 

6. The prophets on the objects of his coming. Psa. 72:2-8; 
Isa. 9: 6, 7; Isa. 11: 2-5; 11: 6-9; 35: 1-10; 25: 6-9; 55: 4; Dan. 7:13, 14; 
Micah4:l-4. 

7. John the Baptist speaks of him. John 1:29. 

8. Jesus speaks of his own mission. Luke 19: 10; Luke 4: 17- 
21; John 18:37; John 12:46; John 6:35; John 3:16, 17; Matt. 
11:27-30. 

9. The angel Gabriel. Luke 1 : 32, 33. 

10. Dominion through suffering. Luke 24:46, 47; 1 Pet. 1: 10, 
11; 1 Pet. 2: 21-25; Luke 24: 26. 

11. The objects of his kingdom not to be speedily accom- 
plished. Mark 4: 26-29. 

12. But they will certainly be accomplished. Isa. 55:8-13; 
Dan. 7: 27; Rev. 11:15; Psa. 72:15-19. 

Lessons from Bethlehem. 

1. The hopefulness of the life of Jesus, far-reaching to the 
limits of time, of the world, of the degradation of the race. 
Every age, spot and soul has felt the inspiration of the thought, 
11 God so loved the world, " etc. 



CONSOLATION. 27 



2. Poverty consecrated. He took up poverty as a higher 
life of service because a harder life. 

3. We learn humility here. Greatness does not consist in 
outward circumstances. 

4. We learn patience: need of acceptance of God's will in 
God's way, i.e., self-abandonment. Study the patience of God's 
Incarnate Son! 

5. We learn the value of the soul. 

6. The lesson of the brotherhood of man and the Fatherhood 
of God. 



CONSOLATION. 

[See Affliction.] 



I. 

My Son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor 
faint when thou art rebuked of him: for whom the Lord loveth 
he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 

Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh who corrected 
us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be 
in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they 
verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; 
but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. 

Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but 
grievous: nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable 
fruit of righteousness unto them who are exercised thereby. — 
Heb. 12. 

Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore 
depise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: for he maketh 
sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole. 
He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall 
no evil touch thee.— Job 5 : 17-19. 



28 CONSOLATION. 



The Lord will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake 
his inheritance. — Psa. 94- : 14. 

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common 
to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be 
tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation 
also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. — 
1 Cor. 10 : 13. 

The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we 
are the children of God: and if children, then heirs: heirs of 
God, and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with 
him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon, that 
the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be com- 
pared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. — Bom. 
8 : 16-18. 

II. 

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh 
for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while 
we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things 
which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, 
but the things which are not seen are eternal. — 2 Cor. 4 : 17, 18. 

Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who com- 
forteth us in our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort 
them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we 
ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ 
abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. 
And whether we be afflicted it is for your consolation and sal- 
vation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings 
which we also suffer; or whether we be comforted, it is for your 
consolation and salvation. And our hope of you is steadfast, 
knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye 
be also of the consolation. — 2 Cor. 1 :3-7. 

Beloved, think it not strange, concerning the fiery trial 
which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened 



CONSOLATION. 29 



unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's 
sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be 
glad also with exceeding joy. — 1 Pet. 4 : 12. 

And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, These who 
are arrayed in the white robes, who are they, and whence came 
they? 

And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said unto 
me, These are they who came out of great tribulation, and have 
washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the 
Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve 
him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the 
throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, 
neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun strike upon them, 
nor any heat. For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne 
shall feed them, and shall lead'them unto living fountains of 
waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. — 
Bev. 7 : 13-17. 

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high shall 
abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the 
Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God: in him will I 
trust. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I 
deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my 
name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be 
with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him, and 
show him my salvation. — From the 91st Psalm. 

III. 

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me 
to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still 
waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of 
righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through 
the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou 
art with me: thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou pre- 
parest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou 
anointest my head with oil: my cup runneth over. Surely 



30 CONSOLATION. 



goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and 
I wil] dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. — Psa. 23 : 1-6. 

Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine 
anointed. For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. 
I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of my God, than to 
dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun 
and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing 
will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. O Lord of 
hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee. — Psa. 84 :9-12. 

Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: 
for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is 
become my salvation. — Isa. 12 : 2. 

Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be 
in the vines: the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shalL 
yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there 
shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I 
will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my 
strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will 
make me to walk upon mine high places. — Hab. 3 : 17-19. 

Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I 
will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; 
for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto 
your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. — 
Matt. 11 : 28-30. 

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe 
also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it 
were not so 1 would have told you. And if I go and prepare a 
place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself: 
that where I am there ye may be also. — John 14 :l-3* 



COLLECTIONS. 31 



COLLECTIONS. 



The minister in charge of a congregation should prepare a 
directory for the use of his members and for his own conven- 
ience. In large cities the " address" (number and street) of 
every member should be found in this directory. Every year 
or two a new edition, noting changes of residence, deaths, 
alteration in names by reason of marriage, accessions since the 
last edition, withdrawals, removals, etc., should be issued. 
The cost is small, and the result in the way of arousing a con- 
gregational spirit and promoting good feeling is gratifying. 
The order of service, the number and dates for the collections 
should find a conspicuous place on the pages of the directory. 
While taking up the usual morning and evening 'collections, it 
may be found agreeable to direct the organist (where instru- 
mental music is used) to play a soft, sweet voluntary. Or the 
minister, if sp disposed, standing in the pulpit, may repeat pas- 
sages of Scripture which enjoin liberal giving. 

Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after 
many days. In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening 
withhold not thy hand. — Eccl. 11. 

Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits 
of all thine increase: so shall thy barns be filled with plenty. 

Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is 
in the power of thy hand to do it. Say not unto thy neighbor, 
Go, and come again, and to-morrow I will give, when thou hast 
it by thee. — Prov. 3. 

Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by 
him in store, as God hath prospered him. Therefore, as ye 
abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, 
and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound 
in this grace also. For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake ho became 



32 COLLECTIONS. 



poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. Now there- 
fore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to 
will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye 
have. For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted accord- 
ing to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not. — 
1 Cor. 16. 

I have shewed you all things, how that so laboring ye ought 
to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord 
Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. — 
Acts 20 : 35. 

Do ye not know that they who minister about holy things live 
of the sacrifice; and they who wait at the altar are partakers 
with the altar? Even so hath the Lord also ordained that they 
who preach the gospel should live of the gospel. — 1 Cor. 9:13 ', 14. 

He that soweth little shall reap little; and he that soweth 
plenteously shall reap plenteously. Let every man do as he is 
disposed in his heart, not grudgingly, or of necessity; for God 
loveth a cheerful giver. — 2 Cor. 9 :6, 7. 

Let him that is taught in the word minister unto him that 
teacheth, in all good things. Be not deceived, God is not 
mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap. — 

Gal. 6: 6, 7. 

As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all 
men; and especially unto them who are of the household of 
faith.— Gal. 6:10. 

Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be ready to 
distribute, willing to communicate; laying up in store for them- 
selves a good foundation against the time to come, that they 
may lay hold on eternal life. — 1 Tim. 6 : 17-19. 

God is not unrighteous, that he will forget your works and 
labor that proceedeth of love; which love ye have shewed for 
his name's sake, who have ministered unto the saints, and yet 
do minister. — Eeb. 6 :10. 



CHURCH OF GOB. 33 

To do good and to communicate forget not; for with such 
sacrifices God is well pleased. — Heb. 13 : 16. 

Whoso hath this world's goods, and seeth his brother have 
need, and shutteth up his compassion from him, how dwelleth 
the love of God in him?— 1 John 3 : 17. 

He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and 
that which he hath given will he pay him again. — Prov. 19 : 11. 

Blessed be the man that provideth for the sick and needy: the 
Lord shall deliver him in time of trouble. — Psa. 41:1. 

Give alms of thy goods, and never turn thy face from any 
poor man; and then the face of the Lord shall not be turned 
away from thee. 

Be liberal after thy power. If thou hast much, give plente- 
ously; if thou hast little, do thy diligence gladly to give of that 
little: for so gatherest thou to thyself a good reward in the day 
of necessity. 



CHURCH OF GOD. 



1. Jesus' declaration respecting it. Matt. 16: 18. 

2. The word usually translated church in the New Testament 
means an assembly called out or separated for special purposes. 

3. In certain passages the idea of separation from the unbe- 
lieving and disobedient is made prominent. 2 Cor. 6:17, 18; 
Acts 19:8,9. 

4. The word church having been adopted by the founder and 
wise master-builders of the Christian religion, it thereupon 
acquired an enlarged meaning. Two uses of the word in its 
Christian sense are to be found in the New Testament: 

3 



34 CHURCH OF GOB. 

(1) It is used to designate the entire brotherhood of believ- 
ers. Eph. 1:22, 23,25-27. 

(2) To describe the assembly of believers in any given 
locality. 1 Cor. 1:1,2; 1 Thess. 1:1. 

5. Christ the Head of the church. Eph. 1:22; Col. 1: 18. 

6. The foundation of the church. 1 Cor. 3: 11 ; Eph. 2: 20. 

7.« Officers divinely appointed. Eph. 4: 11, 12; 1 Cor. 12:28. 

8. How long these classes of officers were to continue. Eph. 
4:13-16. 

9. Exercise of extraordinary powers in the first churches. 
1 Cor. 12:7-11. 

10. These extraordinary gifts were to cease. 1 Cor. 13: 8-10. 

11. Figures used in the New Testament to set forth the 
church of God: 

(1) A Temple (Eph. 2: 21) of which (a) Jesus is the founda- 
tion, Eph. 2:20; (b) obedient believers the material, 1 Pet. 2:5, 6; 
Eph. 2: 22; 1 Cor. 3:9; (c) God and the apostles builders, 1 Cor. 
3:9, 10; (d) the Holy Spirit the Indweller, 1 Cor. 3:16; 2 Cor. 
6: 16; Eph. 2:22. 

(2) A Family. Gal. 3:26-28. 

(3) A Royal Priesthood. 1 Pet. 2: 9. 

A light-house at the entrance of a harbor. Phil. 2: 14-16. 

12. The church of God may be recognized by certain char- 
acteristics: 

(1) By unity. Eph. 4:4-6. 

(2) By catholicity. 1 Cor. 1:2; Col. 3: 11; Eph. 3:14, 15. 

(3) By equality. Matt. 20: 25-28; Matt. 28:8-12; James 1:9, 10; 
Rom. 12: 3-5, 10; 1 Tim. 5: 1, 2; 1 Pet. 5: 1-5. 

(4) By love. John 13: 34, 35; Eph. 5: 1, 2; 1 John 3: 4. 

(5) By spirituality. 1 John 2: 15-17; 1 Pet. 2: 5; James 4: 4-10; 
Eph. 5:21; 1 Cor. 3:17. 

(6) By submission to Jesus, the Christ, as the only Head of 
the church. Eph. 5: 23, 24. 

13. The scriptural teaching on the design of the church. 
IPet. 2:9; Phil. 2:14-16; Matt. 5:13-16; 1 Cor. 14:24,25; Eph. 
3:10,21. 



BEACONS. 35 



14. The church the object of divine love. Eph. 5:25; Acts 
20:28; 1 Tim. 3:15. 

15. God's love for his ancient covenant people. Zech. 2:8; 
Isa. 49:14-16. 

16. The church in her final perfection. Eph. 5:27; Rev. 
19:6-9. 



DEACONS. 



The occasion of their first appointment is given in Acts 6:1-7. 

" And in those days, when the number of the disciples was 
multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecian Jews 
against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in 
the daily ministration [of food]. And the twelve called the 
multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not fit that 
we should forsake the word of God, and serve tables. Look ye 
out, therefore, brethren, from among you seven men of good 
report, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint 
over this business. And we will continue stedfastly in prayer, 
and in the ministry of the word. And the saying pleased the 
whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith 
and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, 
and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte of Antioch: 
whom they set before the apostles : and when they had prayed, 
they laid their hands on them." 

Deacons in like manner must be grave, not double-tongued, 
not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; holding the 
mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. And let these also 
first be proved; then let them serve as deacons, if they be 
blameless. Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, 
sober, faithful in all things. Let deacons be husbands of one 
wife, ruling their children and their houses well. For they 
that have served well as deacons gain to themselves a good 



36 DEACONS. 



standing, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ 
Jesus.— 1 Tim. 3 : 8-17. 

The deacon's office confers no authority to preach, though he 
may exercise that privilege in common with every disciple. 
His official duty is limited to the secular business and concerns 
of the church, though his work need not be. In caring for the 
church property, in looking up and supplying in Jesus' name 
the wants of the poor of the congregation, in raising funds for 
the support of the various activities of the church, deacons are 
able to do much outside the line of strict official duty. They 
should wait on the congregation when collections are taken 
and when the Lord's Supper is administered. They should 
either act as ushers or see that ushers are appointed. In a 
word, they are charged with all the ministries that relate to the 
Secular interests of the church. A wide-awake board of deacons 
can do much toward promoting the efficiency and comfort of a 
congregation. Such a board will see to it that the bread and 
wine are provided, that the church edifice is kept clean and in 
a state of repair, that the hymn-books are distributed and col 
lected again, that a supply of fuel is on hand during cold 
weather. Even such things as hitching-posts, horse-blocks, 
water-pails, etc., will not be considered unworthy of their 
attention. The church treasurer and church clerk should be 
chosen from the deacons. 

I. 
Outline of Sekmon on the Office of Deacon. 

1. The appointment of deacons was not a temporary expedi- 
ent for a special emergency. We find allusions to them as a 
class of officers in the apostolic churches, e. </., see Phil. 1:1: 
" Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints 
in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops [over- 
seers] and deacons: grace to you and peace from God our 
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." 

2. The word deacon is a translation of the Greek noun, 
diako?ios, which means a minister, servant, attendant. This 



DEACONS. 37 



designation was applied in a large sense to the bishops or elders, 
to the apostles, and even to Jesus himself. See Matt. 20:28; 
Phil. 2:6-8; 1 Cor. 3:5; 1 Cor. 4: 1. 

3. But we have a clear distinction laid down as to the kinds 
of "deaconry" or service, to- wit: (1) Deaconship or ministry 
of the word, and, (2) Deaconship or ministry of tables. Acts 
6:1-4. That is, service whose prime charge is the advance- 
ment of the spiritual interest of congregations; and service 
whose prime charge is care for the temporalities or material 
interests of the congregations of the saints. 

4. Every Christian is to align himself and to become in some 
sense a servant or minister. Eph. 4: 11, 12. 

5. There is a service or ministry spoken of as distinct from 
teaching, exhorting and ruling (Rom. 12: 6-8), and we read of a 
peculiar ministry to which this will apply. See 1 Cor. 16: 15, 16; 
2 Cor. 8: 4; 2 Cor. 9:1; Heb. 6: 10. 

6. The qualifications of this peculiar diaconate are laid down 
in Acts 6: 3; 1 Tim. 3: 8-10, 12. 

7. They are to be selected with care (Acts 6:3; 1 Tim. 3: 10), 
set apart solemnly and publicly to their work (Acts 6 : 6) , and 
promoted if found faithful to their duty. 1 Tim. 3: 13. 

8. No office or charge and no form of the diaconate unim- 
portant. Our Lord's estimate of those who are willing to serve 
their brethren. Matt. 20: 26, 27; Matt. 23:11, 12. 

9. There were deaconesses as well as deacons in the apos- 
tolic churches. See Rom. 16:1, 6, 12; Phil. 4:3; 1 Tim. 3:11, 
New Revision; 1 Tim. 5:9, 10. 

10. The functions or duties of the specific diaconate in the 
primitive churches were, (1) serving tables, Acts 6:23; 

(2) attending to the business of the church, Rom. 16: 1, 2; 

(3) succoring and ministering to the distressed poor, 1 Cor. 
16:15. From 2 Cor. 8:4 and 9:1 we know that ministering to 
the poor refers to care for the poor. 

11. This care for the " temporalities " and material interests 
of the saints did not inhibit the deacons and deaconesses of 
apostolic times from " enlarging themselves " if occasion de- 



38 DEACONS. 



manded, and helping forward the work of the Lord by co-oper- 
ating with apostles, evangelists, and elders or bishops in any 
way not invasive of their peculiar prerogatives. The deacons, 
or some of them, preached (Acts 7: 2; Acts 21:8) and in various 
ways forwarded spiritual as well as temporal interests. Rom. 
16:6, 12; Phil. 4: 3; 1 Tim. 3: 13. 

12. There are duties which all Christians should perform as 
they have opportunity, but order and efficiency require special 
assignment of work. 

II. 

Another Outline of Sermon. 

1. Following up the early history of the church, we find a 
division of labor necessitated by the increase in number of the 
disciples. Acts 6:1. 

2. Reason of this neglect of a part of the congregation, in 
temporal matters, is given in Acts 5:42. 

3. Hence the suggestion of the apostles as to the remedy 
(Acts 6:2, 3), showing the congregation, too, to be the source of 
power. 

4. Reason of the appointment of the seven to look after the 
temporal wants of the church. Acts 6:4. A principle therein 
enunciated. 

5. Qualifications for deaconship. 1 Tim. 3: 8-13. 

6. Elected by the congregation. Acts 6:5. 

7. Set apart by the apostles (Acts 6: 6), and why, at first, by 
the twelve. 

8. Result of this division of labor. Acts 6:7. 

(a) This differentiation, or division of labor, grew naturally 
out of the wants of the church, and was not based on Christ's 
specific appointment, nor solely on apostolic authority. 

(b) No minister of the gospel can succeed in his work until 
he is freed largely from temporal cares and labors. 

(c) A responsible and honorable office, involving an obliga- 
tion to be exemplars to the flock, and to lend hands and hearts 
to every activity of the church. Deacons should attend the 
prayer-meetings, assist in Sunday-school work, promote the 






DEDICATION OF CHURCH. 39 

circulation of religious papers among the membership, strive 
to awaken and conserve a strong church and congregational 
spirit, arouse and keep alive an interest in missions, call atten- 
tion to the general collections, greet strangers, attend and take 
part in the prayer-meetings, wait on the Lord's table, take up 
all collections, serve as ushers or appoint those who will serve, 
look after baptismal arrangements, recommend and when 
authorized attend to all needed repairs of the edifice for wor- 
ship, provide coal, kindling, oil, etc., for the house of God, 
unite with the pastor and bishops in devising ways and means, 
etc. 



DEDICATION of CHURCH. 



One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; 
that I may dwell' in the house of the Lord all the days of my 
life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his 
temple. For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his 
pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me: he 
shall set me upon a rock. — Psa. 27 :4> 5. 

How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul 
longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord: my heart 
and my flesh crieth out for the living God. Yea, the sparrow 
hath found a house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where 
she may lay her young, even thy altars, O Lord of hosts, my 
King, and my God. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: 
they will be still praising thee. Blessed is the man whose 
strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them. Who 
passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also 
filleth the pools. They go from strength to strength, every one 
of them in Zion appeareth before God. O Lord God of hosts, 
hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Behold, O God our 
shield, and look upon the face of thy anointed. For a day in 



40 DEDICATION OF CHURCH. 

thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a door- 
keeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of 
wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord 
will give grace and glory; no good thing will he withhold from 
them that walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man 
that trusteth in thee. — Psa. 84 : 1-12. 

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the 
Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. 
Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, 
and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his 
pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his 
courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. 
For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting, and his truth 
endureth to all generations. — Psa. 100. 

I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house 
of the Lord. Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusa- 
lem. Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together. 
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love 
thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy 
palaces. For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now 
say, Peace be within thee. — Psa. 122. 

Blessed be thou, Lord God of Israel, our Father, for ever and 
ever. For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as all 
our fathers were: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and 
there is none abiding. O Lord our God, all this store that we 
have prepared to build thee a house for thy holy name cometh 
of thy hand, and is all thy own. We know also, our God, that 
thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for 
us, in the uprightness of our hearts, we have willingly offered 
all these things: and now have we seen with joy thy people, 
which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee. O Lord 
God, give to thy people a perfect heart, to keep thy command- 
ments, thy testimonies, and thy statutes. — From 1 Chron. 29th 
chapter. 

But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? be- 



DEDICATION OF CHURCH. 41 

hold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; 
how much less this house which I have built 1 Have respect 
therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, 
O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and the prayer which 
thy servant prayeth before thee. That thy eyes may be open 
upon this house day and night, upon the place whereof thou 
hast said that thou wouldst put thy name there; to hearken 
unto the prayer which thy servant prayeth toward this place. 
Hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, 
their prayer and their sui3plications, and maintain their cause, 
and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee. Now, 
my God, let, I beseech thee, thy eyes be open, and let thy ears 
be attent unto the prayer that is made in this place. Arise, O 
Lord God, into thy resting place, thou, and the ark of thy 
strength: let thy priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation, 
and let thy saints rejoice in goodness. — 2 Chron. 6. 

A church edifice should not be dedicated, i. e., given to God, 
until it has been paid for, and has thus become the property of 
the dedicators or givers. 

A Programme for Dedicatory Service. 

1. Voluntary by the choir, or hymn by congregation. 

2. Short Invocation by the pastor. 

3. Hymn No. 41 in " Christian Hymnal." 

14 O Thou, whose own vast temple stands 
Built over earth and sea, 
Accept the walls that human hands 
Have raised to worship Thee." (Four stanzas.) 

4. Thanksgiving prayer. 

5. Scripture readings. 

6. Dedication sermon. 

7. Dedicatory prayer. 

8. Dedication by minister and people in a responsive service, 
or by the people in concert. 

9. Anthem or hymn. 

10. Delivery of key by chairman of building committee to 
president of board of trustees, who will each make short ad- 
dresses. 



42 



DEDICATION OF CHURCH. 



11. Address: Welcome to Your Church Home. 

12. Congratulatory addresses by visiting ministers, former 
pastors, etc. 

13. Doxology and benediction. 



Another. 
1. Hymn No. 70 in " Christian Hymnal." 



"Within Thy house, O Lord, our God, 
Iu glory now appear," etc. 



2. 
3. 
4. 



5. 
6. 

7. 
8. 



Thanksgiving prayer. 

Scripture readings. 

Hymn No. 122 in " Christian Hymnal." 

u Lord of ITosts, to thee we raise 
Here a house of prayer and praise, 1 ' etc. 

Delivery of key. 

Dedication prayer. 

Dedication sermon. 

At the conclusion of the sermon the people, standing, will 
dedicate for themselves the new house of worship, holding in 
their hands and reading slowly and impressively from a printed 
concert or responsive service. 

9. Short congratulatory addresses. 

10. Hymn No. 149 in " Christian Hymnal " or 178. 

11. Benediction. 

Another. 

1. Hymn. 

2. Prayer. 

3. Report of treasurer. 

4. Report of building committee. 

5. Delivery of key. 

6. Dedicatory prayer. 

7. Dedicatory sermon. 

8. Dedication by people. 

9. Hymn. 

10. Short addresses. 

11. Hymn. 

12. Benediction. 



DEDICATION OF CHURCH. 43 

Specimen Responsive Dedicatory Service by the People. 

[No. 8 in foregoing programme.] 

Minister, or some good reader selected for the occasion: 
We thank thee, our Father, for this house which our hearts and 
hands have builded, thy Spirit working in us both to will and 
to do. First, let us dedicate this house to the better life within 
ourselves; to inward loyalty to Jesus the Christ, which is the 
source of all highest character and noblest conduct. To purity 
of heart let us dedicate this our church. 

People: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see 
God. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, 
for they shall be filled. 

Minister: To service next; service from the heart outwards — 
service of the clean hand, the kind eye, the tender word, the 
loving greeting, the self-forgetting deed; to the service which 
remembers that the most precious thing to give a fellow-man is 
some form of one's better self. To fellowship of hearts and 
the joining of hands, let us dedicate this church. 

People: Amen and amen ! " It is more blessed to give than 
to receive. " To the bearers of others' burdens, to mutual help- 
fulness and sympathy, to the love which thinketh no evil, which 
suffereth long and is kind, we disciples of Jesus dedicate this 
place. 

Minister: To the spirit which seeks the truth, to know it, love 
it, speak it, and live it — which realizes that things seen are tem- 
poral and things unseen eternal — which deeply feels the great- 
ness of human beings because of their immortal endowments, 
and longs to lift them into the light and liberty of the sons of 
God — to the spirit which gratefully honors Jesus as the Life, 
the Truth and the Way — let us dedicate this church. 

People: To trust in truth, reverence for the Word of God, 
to the freest thinking and speaking only " in the Lord " and 
according to the oracles of God, to prayerfulness and the cher- 
ishing of high ideals, to forbearance in matters of mere opinion, 
and to the enkindling and sustentation of the higher life do we 
reverently consecrate this church. 



44 DEDICATION OF CHURCH. 

Minister: To believe that to bring men to love the good 
and live the good is the supreme aim of the religion of Jesus; 
that the Christ type of character and not the dogmas of the 
creeds will conquer and hold the hearts of men ; that the best 
and purest religion is to accept him in his teachings and com- 
mandments, and follow him with unquestioning loyalty until 
he is revealed in us and formed within us; to the faith that no 
good thing is failure and no evil thing success; to the sense of 
union now and here with things eternal, the sense of deathless- 
ness, which the self-forgetting life awakes in man; to these high 
faiths and whatever else aspires and looks Godward, let us ded- 
icate our church. 

People: To these our beliefs, and to the end that their best 
meanings may open in our minds and their glory fill our lives, 
invoking the benison of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, 
we solemnly dedicate our church home. 

Minister: To God the eternal Father, to Jesus Christ his 
Son, our Lord, to the Holy Spirit ever present in the church of 
the living God; to happy praise and reverent worship, as here 
we think the thought of him together; to gratitude and joy and 
trust, as here we name him by the heart's name, "Father," — 
to the eternal God, now and without ceasing, let us strive to 
dedicate our church. 

People: In spirit and in truth, so far as in us lies, we the 
sheep of thy pasture, in joyful remembrance of our deliverance 
from the guilt and dominion of sin, do dedicate this house to 
thee our God, our fathers' and mothers' God. And by our 
worship here, may every home of ours more truly become a 
house of God! 

Minister: Yea, let every heart and home be thy house, O 
God. And may this church be as a larger home into which our 
separate homes all open. Let nothing noble there, be here un- 
welcome or unknown. Here let little children be taught the 
way of righteousness, the weak will strengthened, the breaking 
heart consoled, the wayward impulse sweetly checked. Here 
manifest thyself as a pardoning, consoling, comforting God to 



DEDICATION OF CHURCH. 45 

all thy weary, tempted, way-worn children. Manifest thyself 
to them as thou dost not unto the world. Here let the wedding 
vow be hallowed, and " God be with thee till we meet again " 
uttered through tears of hope above the pulseless bodies of our 
dear dead. Let no man be a stranger within our gates, but 
feel, by our greetings, that God is in us of a truth. Peace be 
within these consecrated walls ! Peace to us, and to our chil- 
dren's children here! 

Choir : Glory to God in the highest, 

And on earth peace, good will among men! 
All the ends of the world shall worship thee, 
And glorify thy holy name ! Amen ! 

At the dedication of the First Christian Church, St. Louis, 
Mo., May 5, 1889, the following beautiful service was read by 
the people in concert: 

We set apart this house to the worship of the living and true 
God, and to the service of Jesus Christ our Lord. We devote 
it to the preaching of the gospel of the grace of God for the 
conversion of sinners and to the education of Christians in the 
knowledge of spiritual truth and in all the activities of Chris- 
tian life. 

Here shall the incense of prayer and praise ascend to God. 
Here shall the ordinance of the Lord's house be sacredly ob- 
served. Here shall the word of God be sounded out for the 
salvation of the perishing. Here may children of sin and sorrow 
find a refuge from despair and ruin, and Christians a harbor to 
which they can resort when the tempest is high, and be safe. 

May no discordant note of strife ever be heard within these 
walls, but may the faith out of which all goodness springs, the 
hope which purifies and comforts the sorrowing heart, and the 
love which honors God, blesses man and binds Christians in 
blessed fellowship, ever inspire and sway the hearts and lives 
of those who worship here. ' 

May God graciously accept this offering of a house in his 
name, an offering made by grateful hearts and willing hands, 
and bless every heart that shares in this gift. 

May multitudes here be born to God, so that when we who 



46 DEDICATIOX OF CHURCH. 

are here to-day shall have gone to our own eternal home, others 
will take up the service and repeal from generation to genera- 
tion the old, old story of the cross until Jesus comes and all his 
redeemed are gathered home. 

We invoke his blessing on the labor of our own hands, and 
we commit to his holy care and keeping all the interests con- 
nected with this religious enterprise. k, May the beauty of the 
Lord our God be upon us and establish thou the work of our 
hands. Yes, the work of our hands establish thou it." 

And to thy blessed name, oh God, whose we are and whom 
we serve, be honor and glory everlasting, through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen. 

A Dedicatory Peayee. 

Almighty God. may this house now set apart to thy worship 
by those who love thee be to them through the coming years a 
shrine of holy and blessed memories. May it be for them a 
refuge from the cares and perplexities of this life, a place 
wherein they may gather light and strength from thee to take 
up the weary tasks under which they have well nigh fainted by 
the way. May it be a shelter from every distress, to which 
resorting in faith they may receive the kiss of peace — of thy 
peace, and come forth again with sunshine in their hearts and 
on their faces the "light not seen on sea or shore. " May this 
house be set for the defence of liberty of thought and speech. 
only in the Lord, and for the maintenance of every right guar- 
anteed by the Cnristian's charter of emancipation, thy blessed 
Word. May this house be a garden of God. in which seed sown 
by faithful men shall spring up into fragrant and beauteous 
blossoms, bearing rich fruit in ennobled human lives. 

And as the dedication of the temple is vain without the 
solemn consecration of the worshipers, we would here and 
now dedicate ourselves unreservedly to thy reasonable and glad 
service. We offer to thee our souls, that through thy word 
received with meekness and thy indwelling Spirit we may be 
changed from glory to glory. May Christ be formed within us. 
the hope of glory, and may the likeness of the Son of man be 



DEDICATION OF CHURCH. 47 

seen in transformed lives, in unselfish aims, in deep and tender 
sympathies, in swift and eager helpfulness to all men, especially 
to those of the household of faith. 

We offer to thee our bodies, praying in deep humility and yet 
in joyous expectancy, that they may be temples fit for thy 
indwelling Spirit. Thou dwellest not in temples made with 
hands, for the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee. And 
yet thou dost condescend, O thou tender and comforting God, 
to dwell in hearts washed and made white in the blood of thy 
Son. May we dedicate our business pursuits and all our labors 
of head and hand to thee, that the gains of honest industry may 
flow forth with glad spontaneity in the cause of righteousness 
and in the service of God. 

From worldly toil, and strife, and care, 

When here we turn aside, 
O Father, in this house of prayer, 

May peace and rest abide. 

Where, when thy erring children meet, 

Weary with pain and grief, 
While kneeling at the Savior's feet» 

May they find sweet relief. 

And may this house, Almighty God, 

Become thy children's home; 
Here may they find thy best abode ; 

Here may thy kingdom come. 

And oh, holy and beautiful house, in which our brethren wor- 
ship the All-seeing and the All-loving, peace be within thy walls; 
for our brethren and companions ' sake we will now say, peace 
be within thee. We ask all in the name of Jesus Christ our 
Lord. Amen. 



48 ELDERS, OR BISHOPS. 

ELDERS, OR BISHOPS. 



If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good 
work. A bishop must then be blameless, the husband of one 
wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, 
apt to teach; not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy 
lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; one that ruleth 
well his own house, having his children in subjection with all 
gravity; for if a man know not how to rule his own house, how 
shall he take care of the church of God? Not a novice, lest 
being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the 
devil. Moreover, he must have a good report of them which 
are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the 
devil.— 1 Tim. 3 : 1-7. 

Ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee: if any 
be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children, 
not accused of riot, or unruly. For a bishop must be blameless, 
as the steward of God; not self-willed, not soon angry, not 
given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; but a lover 
of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; 
holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he 
may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and convince the 
gainsay ers. — Titus 1 : 5-9. 

Rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father; and the 
younger men as brethren. Let the elders that rule well be 
counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in 
the word and doctrine. For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not 
muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The laborer is 
worthy of his reward. Against an elder receive not an accusa- 
tion, but before two or three witnesses. Them that sin rebuke 
before all, that others also may fear. I charge thee before God, 
and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou 
observe these things without preferring one before another, 
doing nothing by partiality. Lay hands suddenly on no man. 



ELDERS, OR BISHOPS. 49 

neither be partaker of other men's sins: keep thyself pure. — 
1 Tim. 5 : 1, 2, 17-22. 

Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the over- 
sight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly: not for filthy 
lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as being lords over God's 
heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when the 
chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory 
that fadeth not^way. — 1 Pet. 5 : 2-4. 

And from Miletus he [Paul] sent to Ephesus, and called to 
him the elders of the church. And when they were come to 
him, he said unto them, Take heed unto yourselves, and to all 
the flock, in the which the Holy Ghost hath made you bishops, 
to feed the church of God, which he purchased with his own 
blood> Wherefore watch ye, remembering that by the space of 
three years I ceased not to admonish every one night and day 
with tears. In all things I gave you an example, how that so 
laboring ye ought to help the weak, and to remember the words 
of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, It is more blessed to 
give than to receive. — From Acts 20th chapter. 

Outlines of Sermons on the Eldership. 
I. 

1. How long after the appointment of deacons in the church 
at Jerusalem before it was found necessary to have elders is 
not known. The first reference to elders in the Christian 
church is found in Acts 11: 29, 30. 

2. Each congregation, anciently, had its own elders, just as 
it had its own deacons, instead of there being a plurality of 
churches under one elder. Acts 14: 23. 

3. These elders, though selected in all probability, as the 
deacons were, by the " multitudes of the disciples," were or- 
dained, or set apart, by the evangelists. Titus 1:5; 1 Tim. 5: 22. 

4. Qualifications of elders, presbyters, overseers, or bishops, 
words used interchangeably to designate the same office. 
ITim. 3:1-7; Titus 1:6-8. 

4 



50 ELDERS, OR BISHOPS. 

5. Their duties: 

(a) To teach and exhort. Titus 1: 9-11. 

(b) To feed and watch over the flock. 1 Pet. 5:1, 2; Acts 
20:28. 

(c) To be examples to others. 1 Pet. 5:3. 

6. They should be respected and esteemed. IThess. 5:12, 
13; 1 Tim. 5:17;Heb. 13:7. 

7. They should be obeyed, when acting in the line of their 
scriptural duty. Heb. 13: 17. 

8. The reward of the faithful shepherd. 1 Pet. 5: 4. 

II. 

1. The first church of Christ was planted in Jerusalem, on 
the day of Pentecost next succeeding the resurrection of our 
Lord. Acts 2:46, 47. 

2. The disciples were in the habit of meeting for worship 
before that day. Acts 1 : 12-14. 

3. These disciples were a prepared material, or nucleus, for 
the first church, but did not as yet constitute a church. They 
had been instructed to take no further steps until notice should 
be given that Jesus was enthroned (Acts 1 : 4, 8), and until the 
Spirit should come to supernaturally endow them and gradually 
guide them into all truth. John 16: 13, 14. Out of this gather- 
ed and waiting material the first church was formed. Acts 2 : 41 . 

4. To these obedient and expectant ones three thousand be- 
lieving penitents were added by baptism on the very day in 
which Peter's opening sermon was preached, and these were 
from many countries. Acts 2: 37-41. 

5. This was the divinely appointed and uniform method of 
entrance into the church. Acts 8: 12, 35-39; Acts 10: 44-48; 16: 14, 
15, 30-34; 18:8; 1 Cor. 12: 13; Gal. 3:26-28. 

6. The "added" ones entered at once upon the Christian 
life. Acts 2:42. 

7. They assembled regularly for these purposes. 1 Cor. 
11:17-22,33,34. 

8. On the first day of the week, our Sunday. Acts 20: 7- T 
1 Cor. 16:1, 2. Called in Rev. 1: 10 " the Lord's day." 



ELDERS, OR BISHOPS. 



51 



9. They came together to partake of the Lord's Supper, an 
observance specially devoted to his memory. 1 Cor. 11:20; 
1 Cor. 10:21. 

10. In the days of extraordinary spiritual gifts these meet- 
ings had certain striking peculiarities of a temporary or pro- 
visional character. 1 Cor. 14:26-40. 

11. Arrangements of an abiding character, for the perma- 
nent edification of the church, were made, to take effect when 
these gifts should be withdrawn. Eph. 4: 12-16. 

12. All the members of the "body " were to be brought into 
exercise, each to perform his proper function. Passages recog- 
nizing a distribution of labor according to gifts: Rom. 12: 4-8; 
1 Pet. 4:10, 11. 

13. Some were to rule and teach. The duties especially 
assigned to them were: 

(a) Ruling. 1 Tim. 8:5; Heb. 13: 7, 17. 

(b) Preaching and Teaching. 1 Tim. 5:17, 18; 1 Pet, 5:1-4; 
Acts 20: 28; 1 Thess. 5: 14, 15. 

(c) To set a proper example. 1 Pet. 5:3. 

(d) To relieve the distressed. Acts 11: 29, 30. 

14. The qualifications of these elders, or bishops, are clearly 
laid down. 1 Tim. 3:7; Titus 1: 5-11. 

15. Care must be exercised in selecting men for these impor- 
tant trusts. 1 Tim. 5: 22, 24, 25. 

16. They are to be proved (1 Tim. 3:10), and after election 
and acceptance set apart to their work. Acts 14: 23. 

17. Duties of church members to their spiritual officiary: 

(a) Obedience. Heb. 13:17. 

(b) Respect and affection. 1 Thess. 5: 12, 13; 1 Tim. 5: 1. 

(c) Support. 1 Tim. 5: 17, 18; Gal. 6:6. 

(d) Protection of their reputation. 1 Tim. 5:19. 

18. Course to pursue when sin is proved against them. 
ITim. 5:20. 

19. Reward of those who faithfully care for God's church. 
1 Pet. 5:4. 



52 EVANGELISTS. 



EVANGELISTS. 



And he gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and 
some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the per- 
fecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, unto the 
building up of the body of Christ: till we all attain unto the 
unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto 
a full-grown man, unto the measure of the stature of the ful- 
ness of Christ.— Eph. 4 : 11-13. 

But be thou sober in all things, suffer hardship, do the work 
of an evangelist, fulfill thy ministry. — 2 Tim. 4 : 5. 

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that 
bringeth good tidings, that publisheth salvation; thatsaith unto 
Zion, Thy God reigneth! Thy watchmen shall lift up the 
voice.— Isa. 52 : 7. 

How then shall they call on him in whom they have not be- 
lieved? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have 
not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? and 
how shall they preach except they be sent? as it is written, 
How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of 
peace, and bring glad tidings of good things. — Bom. 10 : i>£, 15. 

If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou 
shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the 
words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast at- 
tained. These things command and teach. Let no man despise 
thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in 
conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I 
come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. 
Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by 
prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. 
Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them: that 
thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and 
unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this, thou 



EVANGELISTS. 53 



shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee. — 1 Tim. 4 : 6, 
11-16. 

I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, 
who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and 
his kingdom, preach the word; be instant in season, out of sea- 
son; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doc- 
trine.—^ Tim. 4:1. 

See 1 Tim. 6:12-21, and Titus 2: 1-8, 11-15; 2 Cor. 6:3-10. 

As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the 
same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of 
God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if 
any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God 
giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus 
Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. — 
1 Pet. 4: 10, 11. 

I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; there- 
fore thou shalt hear the word of my mouth, and warn them 
from me. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou 
shalt surely die: if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from 
his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood 
will I require at thy hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the 
wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his 
way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy 
soul.— Ezek. 33 : 7-9. 

Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every 
creature. He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved; 
but he that believeth not shall be damned. — John 16 : 15, 16. 

The generic meaning of evangelist is, a proclaimer of good 
news. But the word is also used in the New Testament in a 
definite and official sense. Philip, at first merely a deacon, 
grew into a flaming evangelist. . Acts 21 : 8. Timothy and Titus 
were eminent evangelists. The presbytery or eldership or- 
dained the former to the work of an evangelist (Acts 16: 1-3 with 
1 Tim. 4:14). " Paul afterwards communicated miraculous gifts 
to him by the imposition of his own hands (2 Tim. 1 : 6), but this 



54 EVANGELISTS. 



act, while insuring greater personal efficiency in that age, added 
nothing to the validity of the commission already received from 
fhe church of Lystra and Iconium. See also Acts 13:1-4. The 
apostolic and prophetic offices were for an emergency, to 
establish the church on a firm foundation, and passed away 
with the cessation of miraculous gifts. The offices indispensa- 
ble to the church's existence and usefulness survive. The 
offices of evangelist, of elder, and of deacon were intended to 
be perpetual. The special or leading function of the evangelist 
is to awaken, convert and organize; of the elder to watch over 
the spiritual interests of the local or individual congregations; 
of the deacon to promote or care for the secular concerns of the 
respective congregations. 

Outlines of Sermons on the Office of Evangelist. 



The work of elders and deacons looked to the building up of 
congregations already planted. For preaching the gospel in 
new places, and establishing new congregations, there was an- 
other class of workers known as evangelists. 

1. Their ordination. Acts 13: 1-3; 1 Tim. 4: 14; 2 Tim. 1: 6. 

2. Their work: 

(a) To preach the word. 2 Tim. 4: 1, 2, 3. 

(b) To reprove the erring. 1 Tim. 5: 20; Titus 1: 13; Titus 
2:15. 

(c) To be an example to believers. 1 Tim. 4: 12. 

(d) To ordain elders and teachers. 2 Tim. 2: 2; 1 Tim. 5: 22; 
Titus 1: 5. 

3. Churches contributed to their support. Phil. 2: 25; 2 Cor. 
11:8. 

4. Evangelists are included among the gifts to the church 
given by the ascended Lord. Eph. 4: 11. 

5. They are exhorted to study. 2 Tim. 2: 15. 

6. Must be men of exemplary lives. Titus 2: 7, 8. 

7. Must avoid unprofitable questions. 2 Tim. 2: 23. 

« Should be wholly devoted to their work. 1 Tim. 4: 15. 



EVANGELISTS. 



55 



II. 

1. We read of other officers in New Testament churches be- 
sides bishops and deacons. Acts 21: 8; 2 Tim. 4: 5. 

2. They are distinguished from pastors and teachers. Eph. 
4:11. 

3. This class of laborers to be perpetuated after the close of 
the age of spiritual gifts. 2 Tim. 2: 1, 2. 

4. An instance of the appointment of men to this work. 
Acts 13: 1-3. 

5. How we know that preaching the word or bearing good 
tidings was the work to which these men were called or set 
apart. Acts 13: 4, 5. 

6. Besides preaching the gospel, they cared for their con- 
verts and organized churches. Acts 14: 21-23; Acts 15: 36. 

7. They rendered an account of their labors to the church 
that sent them forth. Acts 14: 26-28. 

8. Besides preaching the gospel, planting churches and 
caring for them until they were self-supporting, they cared for 
weak churches not of their own planting. Titus 1: 5; 1 Tim. 
1:3,4. 

9. The Evangelist Timothy's work at Ephesus. 2 Tim. 4: 1-5. 

10. Reason urged by Paul for the performance of these 
duties by Timothy. 2 Tim. 4: 6-8. 

11. We conclude, therefore, that the work of an evangelist 
was to continue after the apostles had ceased their labors. 
The object of Paul in writing so explicitly to Timothy and 
Titus was that they, and all evangelists who should in later 
times read these epistles, might know how to perform their 
duties in the churches they were to set in order. 1 Tim. 3: 14, 
15. 

12. Some of these duties: 

(a) Preaching the gospel. 2 Tim. 4:2. What that is. 

(b) To teach, reprove, exhort, so as to establish Christians 
in the faith, recover backsliders, and withstand false teachers. 
2 Tim. 4: 2; 2 Tim. 2: 23-26; 1 Tim. 6: 17-21; Titus 2: 1-6, 15. 

\c) To appoint proper rulers and teachers in the church, and 



56 EVANGELISTS. 



teach thera and the church their duties. 1 Tim. 5: 22; Titus 1: 5; 

1 Tim. 5: 1, 2, 17-20. 

13. The spirit iu which this was to be done. 1 Tim. 5: 21. 

14. How they were to enforce their teachings. 1 Tim. 4: 12; 
Titus 2: 7, 8. 

15. They were to be entirely devoted to their work. 1 Tim. 
4:15; 1 Tim. 2:4-7. 

16. Preparation for their duties. 1 Tim. 4: 13-16; 2 Tim. 
3:14-17; 2 Tim. 1: 13. 

17. How Timothy was chosen for this work. Acts 16: 1-3; 

2 Tim. 1:6; 1 Tim. 4: 14. 

18. Though all Christians cannot give themselves to the 
work of preaching the gospel, planting churches, caring for 
weak churches, since all have not the ability for such work, 
yet may all share in the glorious privilege of sending the gos- 
pel into all the world by giving liberally of their means to send 
those who are qualified, and by supporting them decently in 
their work. 

(a) The Scriptures make this our privilege and our duty. 
1 Cor. 9: 7-15; 3 John 5-8. 

(b) It is not commendable, directly or indirectly, to oppose 
or discourage such contributions. 3 John 9, 10. 

(c) The primitive churches sent help to preachers of the gos- 
pel. Phil. 4: 10-18; 2 Cor. 11: 7-9. 

(d) In case of one church, or several churches, being unable 
to meet any demand on their Christian benevolence or duty, 
many congregations united their offerings. 2 Cor. 9: 1-5. 

(e) The congregations were stirred up by apostolic letters 
and by special messengers, and the money raised was sent by 
chosen messengers or delegates, who were instructed to dis- 
burse it. 2 Cor. 9: 3-5; 1 Cor. 16: 1-4; 2 Cor. 8: 18, 19, 23, 24; 
Phil. 2: 25. 

19. Others besides Timothy, Titus, Paul and Barnabas were 
employed as evangelists. 2 Tim. 4: 10-12. 

20. The church cannot fulfill her mission without sustaining 
competent evangelists in all parts of the earth. Rom. 10: 14, 15. 



EASTER. 57 



EASTER. 



Easter is a church festival commemorating Christ's resurrec- 
tion. Though purely of human origin, it is growing more and 
more into popular favor, and most Protestant bodies observe it 
in the character of the sermons preached on that day, if in no 
other way. Whatever the origin of the day, it celebrates a 
fact, an obstinate fact, one that has encountered the hostility 
of suspicion, derision and denial. Every recurring Lord's day 
asserts the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but it is well, perhaps, 
to emphasize in a special way the best-proved fact of history, 
and the most momentous also, save its two co-ordinates, the 
incarnation and the crucifixion. 

The key of the observance of this day of religious jubilation 
is set in the exultant strain of Paul, " Now is Christ risen!" 
(1 Cor. 15: 20.) We need not worry our minds over the historic 
vindication of this day, nor see through timorous eyes an en- 
croaching ecclesiasticism in the tendency to make it a feast of 
universal gladness. It is not necessary that we should know 
the soil on which it grew, the plant from which it was plucked, 
to enjoy the fragrance and beauty of the flower that a friend 
has placed in our hands. We question it ourselves, and it fur- 
nishes its own answer of sweetness and beauty. 

This day should give free range to the great subject of im- 
mortality. The minister should not only preach upon the res- 
urrection of Christ, but also give reasons for the hope of con- 
scious' existence in the great Beyond. 

Let the deeper instincts and emotions of our humanity bear 
their own witness, too, for the moral forces of the soul have 
their own perceptions. Three voices should blend their har- 
mony on such a day: hope, faith and love. The hope of im- 
mortality should stir us with its inward prophecy. To that 
deep and native hope of the soul, there is but one answer: ful- 
fillment. Shall we ask bread, and receive a stone? This hope. 



58 EASTER. 



the offspring of the divine promise, is also the pledge of the 
divine answer. 

Faith adds its song of trust to the yearning of hope. It re- 
veals to us the substance of the things hoped for, the evidence 
of the things not seen. Faith, if unperverted, will take immor- 
tality for granted. While grateful for evidence pointing to the 
soul's high destiny, the child-like heart recognizes a confidence 
born of elements we cannot wholly trace, but which are, in all 
probability, the soul's immediate perception of its own exalted 
destiny. 

Let love raise its voice on such a day. It has laid up its 
treasures in the past. Our thoughts of immortality take a 
deeper personal tinge wheo we think of those who have blessed 
our lives and then gone up higher. Life here and hereafter is 
worth more because of them. We cannot be satisfied with an 
immortality of solitude. We long for the companionship of 
those who have blessed us in the fiesh. We trust also that the 
souls that have blessed us by their deeds and thoughts in ages 
gone, may bless us in the ages to come, that the orbit of our 
love in another life may be even greater than it is here. 

Outlines of Sermoxs Suitable to Easter. 
I. 
The Besurrection of Jesus. 
1. It was according to the Scriptures. 1 Cor. 15: 4. Inti- 
mations of this event, more or less clear, in the Old Testament 
Scriptures. 

(1) In receiving Isaac back "from the dead." Gen. 22: 10- 
13; Heb. 11:17-20. 

(2) In the waving of the first fruits on "the morrow after 
the Sabbath." Lev. 23: 11; 1 Cor. 15: 20. 

(3) In the history of Jonah. Jon. 1:17; Jon. 2:10; Matt. 
12:39, 40. 

(4) In all those prophecies which, though announcing a suf- 
fering and dying Messiah, still predict his after-reign and tri- 
\unphs. Isa. 53: 10-12; Dan. 9: 24-27. 



EASTER. 



59 



2. His resurrection was previously announced by himself. 
John 2: 18-22; Matt. 16: 21; Matt. 17: 9; Matt. 27: 63. 

3. Witnesses of his resurrection. 1 Cor. 15: 5-8. 

Purposes of the 'Resurrection. 

1. To furnish the crowning evidence of his divinity. Acts 
17: 31; Rom. 1: 4; 1 Cor. 15: 14. 

2. To triumph over the powers of darkness. Col. 2: 14, 15; 
Eph. 4:8-10; Heb. 2: 14. 

3. To pass from the cross to the crown. Phil. 2: 9: 11; Heb. 
1:3. 

4. That he might give the hope of eternal life to his people. 
Eph. 1: 19-23; 1 Thess. 4: 13, 14; 1 Cor. 15: 16-23; Heb. 2: 15. 

Hence his resurrection was prominent in the apostolic 
preaching. Acts 2: 24-33; Acts 4: 2, 33; Acts 10: 40-43; Acts 13: 32- 
37; Acts 17: 31; Acts 26: 22, 23; 1 Cor. 15: 1-4. 

II. 

TJie Resurrection. 

1. As foreshadowed in the Old Testament. (1) By Job. Job 
19:25-27. (2) By Isaiah. Isa. 26: 19. (3) By Daniel. Dan. 
12: 2, 3, 13. (4) By Hosea. Hos. 13:14.. (5) Abraham had 
this faith. Heb. 11: 19. (6) Moses had this faith. Luke 20: 37, 



2. This doctrine was derided by the Greeks. Acts 17: 18, 32. 

3. Held to by most Jews. Acts 23: 6-8; Acts 24: 14, 15; Acts 
26: 6-8. 

4. Christ's resurrection insures the resurrection of all his 
followers. 1 Cor. 15: 20-23; John 6: 39, 40. 

5. The order of the resurrection. (1) The dead saints first 
raised. 1 Thess. 4: 13-16. (2) Then living saints caught up. 
1 Thess. 4:17. 

6. Nature of the resurrection body. (1) It will be incorrupt- 
ible. 1 Cor. 15:42. (2) Will possess glory and power. 1 Cor. 
15: 43. (3) Will be a spiritual body. 1 Cor. 15: 44-50. (4) Will 
be like Christ's body. Phil. 3: 20, 21; 1 John 3: 2. 



60 EASTER. 

7. The believers longing for this glorious body. Rom. 8: 23; 
2 Cor. 5:1-4. 

8. The resurrection will be the victory over man's last ene- 
my. 1 Cor. 15: 26; 1 Cor. 15: 54-56. 

III. 

1. Where and by whom Jesus was buried. John 19: 38-42; 
Luke 23: 55, 56. 

2. Precaution was taken that none might be able to remove 
his body. Matt. 27: 62-66. 

3. On the first day of the week it was discovered that the 
body was missing. Luke 24: 1-3. 

4. An account of his release from the sepulchre. Matt. 
28:2-4. 

5. The angel's announcement to the women. Matt. 28: 5-7. 

6. The enemy's explanation of the body's disappearance. 
Matt. 28:11-15. 

7. His appearance in the body to his disciples after his res- 
urrection. Acts 1:3; 1 Cor. 15: 5-8. 

8. A prophet's intimation of the resurrection. Ps. 16: 9-11. 

9. Our reason for applying this to the resurrection of the 
Messiah. Acts 2: 25-31. 

10. Another prophetical intimation. Isa. 53: 10-12. 

11. Jesus' own clear prediction. John 2: 18-22. 

12. Plain declarations in other passages. Matt. 16: 21; Luke 
18: 31-34. 

13. The apostles speak of the resurrection of Jesus as bear- 
ing on his own mission. 1 Cor. 15: 14-18; Rom. 1: 4; Acts 13: 32- 
39; Acts 17: 31; Eph. 1: 19-23; Eph. 4: 8-10; Acts 5: 30, 31; Acts 
2:32,33, 36; Phil. 2:9-11. 

14. They also speak of the resurrection of Jesus as it bears 
on our pwn interests. 1 Pet. 1: 3-5; 1 Thess. 4: 14; 2 Tim. 1: 10; 
1 Cor. 15: 20-23; John 11: 25, 26; Rev. 1: 18; Rom. 4: 23-25. 

15. Place occupied by the resurrection in the gospel. 1 Cor. 
15: 1-4; Acts 4: 2, 33; Acts 17: 18; Acts 26: 22, 23. 

16. The resurrection symbolized in baptism. Rom. 6: 4; 
Col. 2: 12. 



EASTER. 61 



17. The disciples observed the day of our Lord's resurrec- 
tion. Acts 20: 7; 1 Cor. 16: 1, 2; Acts 2: 42. 

18. Jesus was with his disciples forty days after the resur- 
rection, and was then taken up. Acts 1: 3, 9; Mark 16: 19. 

19. How long he is to reign there. 1 Cor. 15: 24-28. 

20. He will corne again. Acts 1: 10, 11. 

21. The resurrection of Christ linked with the life we are to 
live here. Rom. 6: 10, 11; Col. 3: 1-4; Heb. 13: 20, 21. 

IV. 

The Empty Tomb.— Matt. 28 : 6. 

1. The resurrection of Christ the great central truth of the 
Christian religion, the joy of the church, the comfort of the 
sorrowful, the hope of the dying. Life a hopeless period of 
aimless existence without the truth established by the resur- 
rection (1 Cor. 15: 19). Types: The world after the flood, the 
raising of the widow's son (2 Kings 4: 32-37), Joseph coming out 
of the pit, Daniel rescued from the den of lions, Mordecai, etc. 

2. The apostles taught the resurrection of the dead as the 
cardinal truth of the religion of Christ. All else hinged upon 
this. Easy to believe that Christ was the Son of God, born of 
the Virgin Mary, if once the fact was accepted that he rose 
from the dead, in his own body, really and actually (Acts 2: 32; 
3:15; 4:10; 7:55; 10:40; 17:31). 

3. The ancient salutation of Christians on Easter morning, 
" The Lord is risen," to which the response was, "He is risen 
indeed," is still observed in Russia. The sting of death drawn, 
and the victory of the grave overthrown. The tomb emptied 
of fts horrors and mysteries. The riddle of death revealed and 
explained. 

4. The universal dominion of death, graves in every land. 
The hand of death respects no class, no person. Two ways of 
meeting death, in Christ, and out of Christ — in his power who 
has overcome it, and in our own strength, which is powerless 
before it. The tomb too strong for us, but Christ, having deiiv- 



62 FUNERAL SERVICES 

ered himself from its cold embrace, can also deliver those who 
trust in him. 

[See Chauning's works for article on Immortality, On the 
Future Life. See articles in "Orthodoxy; its Truth and Error," 
by James Freeman Clarke. See "Common Sense in Religion," 
by the same author. Read Martineau's "Endeavors After the 
Christian Life," articles "Great Hopes for Great Souls," etc.] 



FUNERAL SERVICES. 



I. 

Service over an infant, or a little child: The minister may 
meet the corpse at the church door, and, walking slowly before 
it toward the pulpit, repeat a number of passages from Holy 
Writ. • 

Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my 
days, what it is: that I may know how frail I am. Behold, thou 
hast made my days as a hand-breadth, and mine age is as noth- 
ing before thee: verily every man at his best state is alto- 
gether vanity.— Ps. 39: 4, 5. 

The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the 
God of Jacob defend thee: send thee help from the sanctuary 
and strengthen thee out of Zion. — Ps. 20. 

Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not to come 
unto me; for of such is the kingdom of heaven. — Matt, 19: 14. 

Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little 
child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his 
arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them. — Matt, 
10: 13-16. 

The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the 
name of the Lord. — Job 1: 21. 

When the minister has taken his seat ft and the casket has 



FUNERAL SERVICES. 63 

"b^en placed upon the platform, then may be sung an appro- 
priate hymn. Numbers 211, 238, 452 and 518 in the Christian 
Hymnal, will be suitable on such occasions. 

After the hymn has been sung, comforting extracts from the 
Scriptures should be read. It is not out of place to read tender 
passages from Christian poets. 

But when David saw that his servants whispered, David per- 
ceived that the child was dead; therefore David said unto his 
servants, Is the child dead? and they said, He is dead. Then 
David arose from the earth, and washed and anointed himself, 
and changed his apparel and came into the house of the Lord, 
and worshipped. Then he came to his own house, and when 
he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat. Then 
said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast 
done? thou didst fast and weep for the child while it was alive, 
but when the child was dead, thou didst use and eat bread. 
And he said, while the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: 
for I said, Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me, 
that the child may live? But now he is dead, wherefore should 
I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he 
shall not return to me.— 2 Sam. 12: 18-23. 

II. 

And when the child was grown [larger], it fell on a day, that 
he went out to his father to the reapers. And he said unto his 
father, My head, my head! And he said to a lad, Carry him to 
his mother. And when he had taken him, and brought him to 
his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died. And 
she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and 
shut the door upon him, and went out. And she called unto 
her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young 
men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, 
and come again. And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him 
to-day? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It 
shall be well. Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, 
Drive, and go forward; slack not thy riding forme, except I 



64 FUNERAL SERVICES 

bid thee. So she went and came unto the man of God to 
Mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God 
saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, 
yonder is that Shunammite: run now, I pray thee, to meet her, 
and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy hus- 
band? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well. — 
2 Kings 4: 18-21. 

There is no flock, however watched and tended, 

But one dead lamb is there ; 
There is no fireside, howsoe'er defended, 

But has one vacant chair. 

With silence only as their benediction 

God's angels come, 
Where, in the shadow of a great affliction, 

The soul sits dumb ; 
Yet would we say what every heart approveth, 

Our Father's will, 
Calling to him the dear ones whom he loveth, 

Is mercy still. 

III. 

The air is full of farewells to the dying, 

And mournings for the dead ; 
The heart of Rachel, for her children crying, 

Will not be comforted. 

Le^us be patient. These severe afflictions 

Not from the ground arise ; 
But oftentimes celestial benedictions 

Assume this dark disguise. 

In that great cloister's pure and holy stillness, 

By guardian angels led ; 
Safe from temptation, safe from sin's pollution, 

She [he] lives whom we call dead. 

While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the syna- 
gogue's house certain who said, Thy daughter is dead; why 
troubles t thou the Master any further? As soon as Jesus heard 
the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the syna- 
gogue, Be not afraid; only believe. And he suffered no man to 



FUNERAL SERVICES. 65 

follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of 
James. And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the syna- 
gogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed 
greatly. And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why 
make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleep- 
eth. And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put 
them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the dam- 
sel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the 
damsel was lying. And he took the maid by the hand, and 
saith unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Dam 
sel, (I say unto thee,) arise. And straightway the damsel arose, 
and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they 
were astonished with a great astonishment. And he com- 
manded that something should be given her to eat. — Mark 
6: 35-/L3. 

Thy days, my darling one, were few— 
An angel's morning visit, 

That came and vanished with the dew— 
'Twas here— 'tis gone— where is it? 

I cannot tell to what sweet dell 

The angels may have borne thee ; 
But this I know, thou canst not go 

Where my heart will fail to find thee. 

Gem of our hearth, our household pride, 

Earth's undefiled, 
Could love have saved, thou hadst not died, 

Our dear, sweet child ! 
Humbly we bow to Fate's decree; 
Yet had we hoped that Time should see 
Thee mourn for us ; not us for thee. 

Yet 'tis sweet balm to our despair, 

Fond, fairest boy, 
That heaven is God's, and thou art there, 

With him in joy; 
There past are death and all its woes ; 
There Life's sweet stream forever flows, 
And rapture's day no sunset knows. 

* <*he second line of the last stanza may be changed so as to 
5 



66 FUNERAL SERVICES. 

read, "When thee we miss," and the fourth line, " With him in 
bliss."] 

Oultines of Sermons at Funerals of Children. 

I. 

1 Cor. 13: 12. 
1 Deficiencies in our vision. 

(a) Natural eyes given for what purpose. These are often 
imperfect and always limited. We add to their power in vari- 
ous ways. 

(b) The mind has eyes, too, to look within material things, 
to see what is underneath their surface. We can strenthen 
reason and sharpen intelligence. 

(c) We see in common with animals what is on the surface. 
But no animal sees what a cultured man sees in a landscape, or 
by the seashore, or in the heavens, or amid mountains. And no 
man led captive by his grosser passions can see in nature what 
a Longfellow, Whitlier or Wordsworth sees. 

(d) For spiritual things faith is given us. This is the soul's 
eye. The Bible helps this eye to have larger and deeper vision. 
Yet even to this eye "we see through a glass darkly." The 
dispensations of Providence are mysterious. Things pleasing 
to us we accept as a matter of course, and look upon happiness 
and freedom from affliction as rights which should not be in- 
vaded. Troubles we accept unwillingly and grow rebellious 
under them. We forget that " this is not our rest, " that we are 
11 seeking a continuing city, whose builder and maker is God,'* 
that there is for God's people only one design in sorrows, and 
that is "more fruit." We look at death from one stand- 
point, and that is, what it has done for us, our loss, the separa- 
tion from dear ones, etc. 

2. There is a mitigation for our grief. 

(a) We may come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may 
obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. The same 
Jesus who spake pityingly to a distressed mother at the gate 
of Nain is close at hand and is able to wipe away all tears and 
lead youunto living fountains of waters. He who wept at the 



FUNERAL SERVICES. 67 

tomb of Lazarus and groaned in spirit at the sight of a be- 
reaved sister's flowing tears, "in all your affliction is himself 
afflicted. " Yet a little while and all will be made clear. Your 
grief may endure for a night, but joy shall come in the morn- 
ing. A bow of hope spans the darkness of the grave. You 
have a child in heaven, safely garnered from the trials of earth, v 
saved perhaps from evil to come. Is it nothing to you to own 
an angel there? Are the consolations of God small with you? 

(b) Look at your loss from the child's standpoint. She [he] 
is with loved ones gone before. She [he] is a full sharer in the 
bliss of saved immortals. If your eyes could be touched and 
for one moment you could see her [his] surroundings, the 
grand capacities and possibilities of the life just freed from the 
trammels of earth, your tears would be dried and your faces 
would glow with the light not seen on sea or shore. You would 
cry in ecstacy, " Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly." 

II. 
Lessons from the Life and Death of a Child. 

1. This little life has not been wasted. Having begun to 
live, it is unquenchable. There is a caprice apparently in the 
dispensation of death which calls for a sequel. A majority of 
the race die before five years old. And yet, being immortal, 
they have achieved success. Guiltless of actual transgression, 
they enter eternity to begin an endless career of glorious de- 
velopment. Jesus loved children while he was on earth. See 
Matt. 18: 3; 19: 14; Mark 10: 14; Luke 18: 16. Does he love them 
less now? Do great souls grow away from loved ones, or be- 
come more capable of deathless love and sympathy? 

2. This babe, now in glory, has been your benefactor. He 
[she] taught you self-denial and patience; she taught you to 
love littleness, feebleness, helplessness. How gladly you 
learned the lesson that self-sacrifice for the good of others is 
the essence of the religion of Jesus. He [she] was a gift from 
God to your home. And you will now feel and say in all the 
years to come, 



68 FUNERAL SERVICES. 

'"Twas better to have loved and lost, 
Than never to have loved at all.'* 

You are richer and better for having a little child in heaven to 
beckon you onward and upward. You have an investment 
there. Your heart's choicest treasure is in the city which hath 
sure foundations. Trials may come to you, but none can hap- 
pen to him upon whose lips Jesus has pressed the kiss of peace. 

3. Tears you will shed, but not tears of despair. Let your 
hearts be softened, not embittered. Run up under the rod and 
you will find it held by a Father's hand. "It is well with the 
child." "You can go to him" [her]. Remember your cove- 
nant God. Think of the evil in the world from which your 
child has eternally escaped. Think of life's trials. 

4. Think of the other world. Let not the tyranny of the 
senses stagger your faith. No one can see the oak in the acorn, 
the pine in the feathered mast not two inches long, the eagle in 
the egg. No one can see the mighty statesman in a helpless 
babe. We cannot see God's transcendent angels in dying babes 
either — but they are there. 

5. Bless God that children are safe. But remember your 
own accountability. Stir up whatever gift of God is in you, 
and turn your faces from this day with renewed zeal toward 
the shining shore. From the heavens there must ever come to 
you a voice of eloquent entreaty, saying, father, mother, broth- 
er, sister, meet me here in joy and peace beyond measure. 

Death of Young People. 

And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city 
called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and 
much people. Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, 
behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his 
mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was 
with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on 
her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched 
the bier; and they that bare him stood still. And he said, 
Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat 



FUNERAL SERVICES. 69 

up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. 
And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, 
That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath 
visited his people. — Luke 7: 11-16. 

Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the 
grave four days already. Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusa- 
lem, about fifteen furlongs off: and many of the Jews came to 
Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. 
Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, 
went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house. Then said 
Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou haclst been here, my brother 
had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou 
wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. Jesus saith unto her, 
Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, T know 
that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Je- 
sus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that 
believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and 
whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest 
thou this? She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou 
art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the 
world. And when she had so said, she went her way, and called 
Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and call- 
eth for thee. As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and 
came unto him. Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, 
but was in that place where Martha met him. The Jews then 
which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when 
they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed 
her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there. Then 
when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell 
down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been 
here, my brother had not died. When Jesus therefore saw her 
weeping, and the Jews also weeping who came with her, he 
groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, and said, Where have 
you laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus 
wept.— John 11: 17-35. 



70 FUNERAL SERVICES 

We'll miss thee a thousand times along life's weary track, 

Not a sorrow or a joy but we shall long to call thee back ; 

Yearn for thy true and tender heart, long thy bright smile to see, 

For many dear and true are left, but none are quite like thee. 

Not upon us or ours the solemn angel hath evil wrought, 

The funeral anthem is a glad evangel, the good die not; 

God calls our loved ones, but we lose not wholly what he has given, 

They live in thought and deed as truly as they live in heaven. 

It is little matter at what hour of day 
The righteous fall asleep. Death cannot come 
To him untimely who has learned to die. 
The less of this brief life the more of heaven ; 
The shorter time, the longer immortality. 

I. 

Outline of Sermon. 

Compare Jer. 15: 9 with Matt. 9: 24. 

"Her sun is gone down while it was yet day," and, "The maid 
is not dead, but sleepeth. ,> The going down of the sun is not 
its extinction. And what we call death is the disengaging of 
an invisible but immortal tenant from the house it had been 
living in. The setting sun is rising somewhere, and when we 
sleep, we wake in fairer climes. 

There is a comparison of life to the sun. 

1. In a sense life is a sun. Destroy it and we would be left 
in utter darkness. Only God can destroy that which he has 
made. Science teaches that nothing material can be annihi- 
lated. Everything persists. Love, joy, hope, thought, reason 
persist. 

2. Life, like the sun, enables us to see the beauty and glory 
of all things. 

3. Both have their natural time to go down. 

4. For either to set before its time, seems surely to be op- 
posed to the manifest design in their creation. But He doeth 
all things well. We know not now, but we shall know here- 
after. 

5. The sun has its time for rising, and it will surely rise. 
"Her spirit came again; " "Young man, I say unto thee, 



FUNERAL SERVICES. 71 

Arise; " " Lazarus, come forth." See John 5: 25-29; Mark 12: 26, 
27; Phil. 3: 20, 21; 1 Thess. 4: 13-18. 

6. Think of the safety of the dead. Compare Deut. 34: 5, 6 
with Mark 9 : 4. After 1500 years Moses is still safe in a perfect 
personality, though changed gloriously. He is in company 
with Elijah, who was translated centuries later. There was no 
surprise shown by him or Christ in meeting. They had often 
communed before this. Oh, could we lift the veil a moment, 
what a scene of splendor, what sights and sounds for ravished 
senses! "Eye hath not seen," etc. 

II. 

1 Thess. 4: 13: " Sorrow not as others who have no hope." 

1. Let no distrust of God's goodness mingle with your grief. 

2. As "the sorrow of the world worketh death," avoid 
rebelliousness or despondency. We have reason, in later years, 
to thank God that we bore the yoke in our youth, and that his 
hand was laid upon us. The ministry of sorrow is an important 
one. " No chastisement for the present seemeth to be joyous, 
but grievous, nevertheless afterward," etc. Let us not estimate 
earthly life as the supreme good, else we lose all in losing that. 
The life of the soul, the sense of similarity and communion 
With God, that is the true life. 

3. The grief of sympathy is innocent. The widows wept 
over the departed Dorcas; David poured out his soul over lost 
Absalom. 

4. The sorrow springing from the dictates of nature is un- 
avoidable and therefore innocent. Time will measurably heal 
these wounds, but God is able to pad the cross for you now. 
He is the " God of all comfort." Consider that He is, and 
therefore that he is not very far from you. His eye beholds 
you, his ear is open to your cries. Consider, moreover, that 
He feels for and with you, and go to him to weep out your 
grief upon his breast. Lastly, remember that He is educating 
you by the pruning knife, the plough-share and the furnace for 
the "far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." 



72 FUNERA L SER VICES. 

Lift up your heads then. " If ye be without chastisement, of 
which all are partakers, ye are bastards and not sons." The 
Captain of our salvation was made perfect through suffering. 
The disciple is not above his Lord, etc. 

For an Adult Christian. 

I know that my Redeemer livetti, and that he shall stand at 
the latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin 
worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom 
I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not an- 
other.— Job 19: 25-21. 

Have mercy upon me, O Lord, 
For I am in trouble ; 
Hear my prayer, O Lord, 

Give ear unto my cry. 
Hold not thy peace at my tears, 
For I am a stranger with thee, 
A sojourner, as all my fathers were. 

Hear me when I call. 
O God of righteousness, 
Have mercy upon me— hear my prayer. 
Have mercy upon me, O Lord, 

For I am weak. 
Consider and hear me, O Lord my God, 
Keep me as the apple of thine eye ; 
Hide me under the shadow of thy wings, 
For I am desolate and afflicted. 
The troubles of my heart are enlarged, 
O bring thou me out of my distress. 
Hide not thy face far from me, 
Put not thy servant away in anger. 
Thou hast been my help, leave me not, 
Neither forsake me ; Lord, be thou my helper, 
Make haste to help me, O God of my salvation, 
My soul trusteth in thee, 
Yea, in the shadow of thy wings 
Will I make my refuge 
Till these calamities be overpast. 

Lord, make me to know my end, and the measure of my 
days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am. Behold, thou 



FUNERAL SERVICES. 73 

hast made my days as a hand-breadth; and my age is as noth- 
ing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether 
vanity.— Ps. 39: 4, 5. 

Now my days are swifter than a post: they flee away, they 
see no good. They are passed away as the swift ships: as the 
eagle that hasteth to the prey. If I say, I will forget my com- 
plaint, I will leave off my heaviness, and comfort myself: I am 
afraid of all my sorrows, I know that thou wilt not hold me in- 
nocent.— Job 9: 25-28. 

As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so 
he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; 
and the place thereof shall know it no more. — Ps. 103: 15, 16. 

Lord thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. 
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst 
formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to ever- 
lasting, thou art God. Thou turnest man to destruction; and 
sayest, Return, ye children of men. For a thousand years in 
thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch 
in the night. Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they 
are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which grow- 
eth up. In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up, in the 
evening it is cut down and withereth. We spend our years as 
a tale that is told. The days of our years are threescore years 
and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, 
yet is their strength labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off and 
we fly away. — From the 90th Psalm. 

I will praise thee with my whole heart. I will worship 
toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy loving 
kindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word 
above all thy name. In the day when I cried, thou answeredst 
me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul. Though 
the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the 
proud he knoweth afar off. Though I walk in the midst of 
trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thy hand 
against the wrath of my enemies, and thy right hand shall save 
me. The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: thy 



74 FUNERAL SERVICES. 

mercy, O Lord, endureth forever: forsake not the works of 
thine own hands. — Ps. 138: 1-8. 

Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel and afterward receive 
me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is 
none upon earth that I desire besides thee. My flesh and my 
heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my por- 
tion for ever.— Ps. 73: 24-26. 

These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our 
friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of 
sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do 
well. Howbeit, Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that 
he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. — John 11: 11-13. 

Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors 
through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither 
death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor 
things present, northings to come, nor height, nor depth, nor 
any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of 
God, which is in Jesus Christ our Lord. — Rom. 8: 37-39. 

For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my de- 
parture is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished 
my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for 
me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous 
judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto 
all them also that love his appearing. — 2 Tim. 4: 6-8. 

Go to now, ye that say, To-day or to-morrow we will go into 
such a city, and continue there a year, and buy, and sell, and 
get gain: whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. 
For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a 
little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to 
say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. — 
James 4' 13-15. 

But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that 
both they that have wives be as though they had none; and 
they that wept as though they wept not; and they that rejoice 
as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy as though they 
possessed not; and they that use this world, as not abusing it; 



FUNERAL SERVICES. 75 

for the fashion of this world passeth away. — 1 Cor. 7: 29-31. 

See that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 
redeeming the time, because the days are evil. — Eph. 5: 15 ', 16. 

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, 
neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which 
God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath re- 
vealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all 
things, yea, the deep things of God. — 1 Cor. 2: 9, 10. 

So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and 
this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought 
to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in 
victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy 
victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is 
the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory 
through our Lord Jesus Christ. — 1 Cor. 15: 54-57. 

I would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them 
who are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others who have no 
hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even 
so them also who sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 
Wherefore comfort one another with these words. — 1 Thess. 
4: 13, 14, 18. 

I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed 
are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth: yea, saith 
the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their 
works do follow them. — Bev. 14: 13. 

Light after darkness, gain after loss ; 
Strength after weakness, crown after cross; 
Sweet after bitter, song after sigh, 
Home after wandering, praise after cry. 

Sheaves after sowing, sun after rain, 
Sight after mystery, peace after pain; 
Joy after sorrow, calm after blast, 
Rest after weariness, sweet Rest at last. 

Near after distant, gleam after gloom, 
Love after loneliness, life after tomb; 
After long agony, rapture of bliss, 
Right was the pathway leading to this. 



76 FUNERAL SERVICES. 

Where is the friend who only yesterday- 
Spoke words of love to me? 

To-day I call in piteous tones for answer ; 
No sound comes back to me. 

Where is the darling mother loved so fondly? 

Who, years and years ago, 
Shut soulful eyes, and left our hearts so broken — 

Oh ! shall I ever know ? 

Ah, yes, for every day makes one the nearer 

To that bright land so fair, 
Where all our loved ones greet us as we enter — 

The lost, ones all are there. 

Oh, happy thought ! comes every day the nearer, 

When I those friends shall see 1 
I then shall know why I was left to sorrow, 

Why they were called to Thee ! 

Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of 
corn cometh in its season. — Job 5: 26. 

And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoary hairs 
will I carry you, I have made, and I will bear; even I will 
carry, and will deliver you. — Isa. 46: 4. 

Life's race well run, 
Life's work well done, 
Life's crown well won. 
Now comes rest. 



Outlines of Sermons at Funerals. 
I. 

" No night there."— Rev. 21 : 25. 

Light the emblem of happiness and glory; darkness the em- 
blem of sin and trouble. 

1. No night of mental ignorance in heaven. Here many 
good men are circumscribed . They live and die without know- 
ing their powers. To their eyes knowledge, " her ample J?age, 
rich with the collected spoils of time, did ne'er unroll. " How 
few come to their best estate. Toil and poverty repress the 



FUNERAL SERVICES. 77 

noble rage and chill the genial current of their souls. In 
heaven a boundless field of mental exploration opens. 

2. No moral and spiritual night there. We are imperfect 
beings. The best of men are men at the best, even when doing 
their best. Absolute goodness is God. Human righteousness 
is a poor thing when most fully developed. A sense of imper- 
fection taints all we think and do. The more delicate our 
spiritual perceptions become, the more of latent error and 
lurking evil we see or suspect in ourselves. What a grand 
"consummation devoutly to be wished " to pass into pure and 
ennobling influences, whereby we are constantly vitalized. 
Oh, the life of moral and spiritual growth before the redeemed 
sons and daughters of God ! 

3. No night of actual transgression in heaven. Here not 
only are the seeds of all sins in us, but we sometimes " stumble 
on the dark mountains." The roving eye, the covetous spirit, 
the cynical disposition assert themselves. Sometimes the 
wrath which worketh not the righteousness of God seizes us. 
Sometimes temper lets loose in bitter words the " fire of hell " 
from unmanageable tongues. We cry out of the depths unto 
God, and say with St. Paul, " O wretched man that I am, who 
shall deliver me from the body of this death?" But "over 
there " the wicked will no longer try us, our frail or diseased 
bodies no longer harass us, the tempers and appetites with 
which we are overloaded by heredity no longer shake us with 
their fury. We shall be "on the up-grade " forever. The night 
is past — the night of imperfection, of weakness, of sinfulness. 

4. No night of weariness there. Here we are often worn 
out by bodily toil or mental activity. We are exhausted by 
anxieties, fears and troubles. We long for the hour of sleep, 
"sleep that knits up the raveled sleeve of care." If it flies our 
wooing, we solicit her embrace ofttimes with drugs. Methods 
of recuperation unknown to earth are employed in heaven. 
We tire not in the midst of ceaseless activities. The spiritual 
body needs no sleep. 

5. No night of danger in heaven. Here, owing to foes with- 



73 FUNERAL SERVICES. 

in and foes without, we work out our salvation with fear and 
trembling. We are commanded to watch, and he who knows 
his heart best admits the wisdom of the warning. Not only is 
the possibility of all villainies latent in every heart, but unex- 
pected temptations swoop down upon us. Once inside the 
pearly gates, in the society of blest spirits, with everything un- 
clean outside, we are forever safe. 

6. No night of affliction there. Could we hear the wail of 
sorrow going up from the whole world in one day it would 
drive us mad. Most of this sorrow and suffering is due to sin. 
Everything that can disturb the spirit's deep and holy joy is 
left out of heaven. No bereavements, no disappointments, no 
separations, no struggle for bread, no sickness, no fear of the 
future, no torturing doubts. Nothing but a blissful and daily 
deepening realization of the blessedness of the sons of God. 

7. No night of death there. No crape hangs on the door-knob 
of the mansions of bliss. No hearses drawn by black or white 
horses crowned with sable plumes are to be seen on the golden 
streets. No mothers lift up anguishful voices over the speech- 
less mystery that has hushed the prattle of precious babes. 
No fathers sit with good gray heads bowed dowm in unspeak- 
able sorrow. Death is no more. The grisly terror is robbed 
of his dart forever. 

No hidden grief, 
No wild and cheerless vision of despair, 
No vain petition for a swift relief, 
No tearful eyes, no broken hearts are there. 

No parted friends 
O'er mournful recollections have to weep, 
No bed of death enduring love attends 
To watch the coming of a pulseless sleep. 

II. 
John 11: 19: " Let us also go that we may die with him." 
If Thomas meant, as is probable, to die with Lazarus, the sen- 
timent includes a delightful hope. He did not believe evidently 
that death ends all, but that death would enable him to renew 



FUNERAL SERVICES. 79 

acquaintance and intimacy with Lazarus. He felt the truth 
embodied in this verse: 

44 When God would set our spirits free, 
And earth's enchantment end, 
He takes the most effectual means, 
And robs us of a friend.' 1 
And this, 

u Our hearts are fastened to the world 
With strong and various ties; 
And every trouble cuts a string, 
And urges us to rise." 

1. Yes, we will go to them; we shall know each other, and 
our communion will be renewed and improved. 

2. The country in which we meet. "A better country." 
" New heavens, and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteous- 
ness. " 

3. Exclusion of all afflictions. Here we can have a small 
order of self-contained happiness, little above the animal, if we 
invest notour hearts in others. But if we love, the griefs of 
our beloved become ours in sacred partnership. We endure 
more suffering by sympathy than the sufferer himself feels. 
There no longer will we be called upon to fortify our dear ones 
under reproach, or soothe them under pain. No aching heads 
to hold, no midnight vigils by restless couches, no irksome 
draughts to white lips. The inhabitant shall no more say, " I 
am sick. " No one will say, ' ' Pity me, pity me, O ye my friends, 
for the hand of God hath touched me." 

4. The absence of all moral imperfections. Here you try 
others and they try you, even when strong love exists. If love 
is to live, it must cover a multitude of sins. But there you will 
have nothing to bear with and nothing in yourself to be borne 
with. 

5. The fulness of intelligence there. Myriads of worlds to 
study. Infinite space, infinite material, infinite duration! 

6. Note the superior modes of communicating thought there. 
We shall have the " tongue of angels." Here thought is man- 
gled or suppressed by penury of language. 



80 FUNERAL SERVICES. 

7. Note the superior opportunities of friendly intercourse 
there. Here we see but little of our beloved. Families scatter. 
Traveling expensive. In heaven our freedom uninvaded, our 
conversation practically uninterrupted. 

8. The perpetuity of our friendships there. Here mistakes, 
the tongues of enemies, clashing interests, long absences, dis- 
tance, etc. 

" Where thou art gone 
Adieus and farewells are a sound unknown. 
May I but meet thee on that peaceful shore ! 
The parting sound shall pass my lips no more." 

III. 

Psa. 88: 18: " Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, 
and mine acquaintance into darkness." 
I. Two ways in which we may be deprived of connections: 

1. By desertion, waning love, growing coldness. 

2. By bereavement. This a great loss indeed, (a) We are 
deprived of their example; (b) of their reproofs; (c) counsels; 
(d) prayers; (e) we cannot recall them; (f) we can have no cor- 
respondence or intercourse with them ; (g) so far as we know 
they cannot promote our welfare. Elijah to Elisha: " Ask now 
what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee.'' 1 

II. God's agency a merciful one. u We know that the judg- 
ment of God is always according to truth. " l< Whom the Lord 
loveth he chasteneth," etc. " All things work together for 
good," etc. 

III. We should improve such sad occasions. 

1. In the way of showing sympathy to the bereaved. 

2. In feeling gratitude that so much is left to us. 

3. In taking precaution that we shall be ready and our 
houses in order. 

4. In the way of cultivating resignation. There is no grace 
in bearing what we do not feel, nor can we resign what we do 
not value. But under the instruction of the word and the 
guidance of the Spirit we may learn to look up hopefully and 
say: " Thy grace is sufficient for us." 



FUNERAL SERVICES. 81 

IV. 

Psa. 23: 4: "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow 
of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and 
thy staff they comfort me." 

1. We must all walk through the valley, etc. To the Chris- 
tian it is " the shadow of death." And he walks " through." 

2. There is a confidence expressed, '/ I will fear no evil." 
This is attainable by every one. It is possessed in unequal de- 
grees, because of unequal consecration and sanctification. 
While some are always to some extent "subject to bondage 
through fear of death," others cry, "The Lord is the strength 
of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? " 

3. This confidence generally increases in God's people as 
they draw near to death, because in extremity they cease to 
try to recommend themselves to God, and fall back upon " the 
finished work " and the simplicity of faith. 

4. This confidence enlightened and wise. And why? There 
is no evil in death to the Christian. Christ is his best friend; 
death his second best. 

5. The Divine presence promised, "Thou art with me." 

u O, if my Lord would come and meet, 
My soul shall stretch her wings in haste; 
Fly fearless through death's iron gate, 
Nor feel the terror as she passed." 

At the Grave. 

The minister shall precede the pall-bearers to the grave, and 
after the coffin has been placed in the grave, standing at the 
head thereof, shall say: 

"We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we 
can carry nothing out. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath 
taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." 

Behold, I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we 
shall all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at 
the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall 
6 



82 FUNERAL SERVICES. 

be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this cor- 
ruxDtible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on 
immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on in- 
corruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, 
then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death 
is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O 
grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the 
strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth 
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my 
beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abound- 
ing in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your 
labor is not in vain in the Lord. — 1 Cor. 15: 12-58. 

Then shall the minister say: 

Forasmuch as it hath pleased Almighty God to take out of 
this world the soul of our deceased [brother, sister], we there- 
fore commit Ms body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to 
ashes, dust to dust; looking for the general resurrection in the 
last day, and the life of the world to come, through our Lord 
Jesus Christ; at whose second coming in glorious majesty to 
judge the world, the earth and the sea shall give up their dead; 
and the corruptible bodies of those who sleep in him shall be 
changed, and made like unto his own glorious body; according 
to the mighty power whereby he is able to subdue all things 
unto himself. 

Closing Prayer at the Grave. 

Almighty God, with whom do live the spirits of those who 
depart hence in the Lord, and with whom the souls of the faith- 
ful are in joy and felicity, we give thee hearty thanks for the 
good examples of all thy servants, who, having finished their 
course in faith, do now rest from their labors. O thou Lord of 
all, teach us while we mourn over our distressing bereavement, 
to bow with submission to that hand which has deprived us of 
this earthly comfort. And O, thou great Disposer of all events, 
with whom are the issues of life and death, may we hear that 
warning voice which solemnly speaks to us this day, "Be ye 



F UN ERA L SEE VICES. 83 

also ready." Make us mindful of the short and feeble hold we 
have upon life, and as our bodies are frail, and oar days few 
and uncertain, may we live as if there were but a step between 
us and death. And we do most humbly beseech thee, O Father, 
to raise us from the death of sin unto the life of righteousness; 
that, when we shall depart this life, we may rest in him, and at 
the general resurrection hear with joy the welcome words, 
" Come, ye blessed children of my Father, receive the kingdom 
prepared for you from the beginning of the world." Grant 
this, we beseech thee, O merciful Father, through Jesus Christ, 
our Mediator and Redeemer. Amen. 

Benediction. 

Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our 
Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the 
blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every 
good work to do his will, working in you that which is well 
pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory 
forever and ever. Amen. 

Texts and Hymns Suitabre for Funeral Occasions. 

Job 21: 23; Jer. 15: 9; Eccl. 7: 1; Matt. 25: 21; Psa. 27: 10; Psa. 
35: 14; Prov. 31:28; Eccl. 4: 2; Dan. 12: 13; Rom. 8: 18; Rev. 21: 4; 
2 Sam. 12:23; Psa. 68:5; Matt. 5:4; Mark 16:3; Luke 7:32; 
Luke 8: 52; John 11: 13; John 13: 7; 2 Cor. 4: 18; 1 Thess. 4: 13; 
Prov. 27: 1; Matt. 24: 42, 44; 1 Thess. 5: 6; Gen. 48: 21; Job 5: 26; 
Prov. 3:2; Zech. 14:7; 1 Sam. 1:28; 2 Kings 4:26; Job 1:21; 
Isa. 11: 6; Isa. 40:11; Mai. 3: 17; Matt. 18: 10; Matt. 18: 14; 2 Sam. 
1:19; Psa. 49:17; John 5:35; 2 Kings 20: 1; Eccl. 7: 2; Amos 4: 12; 
Luke 12: 35; Rom. 14: 7; Rom. 14: 10; Rev. 20: 12; Rev. 22: 12; 
Job 14: 1, 2; Job 17: 14, 15; Psa. 39: 6; Psa: 90: 10; Micah 2: 10; 
James 4: 14; 1 Pet. 1: 24, 25; Ex. 33: 14; Numbers 23: 10; 2 Kings 
4:1; Job 11:18,19; Psa. 23:4; Psa. 37:37; Psa. 116:15; Psa. 
127: 2; Prov. 10: 7; Isa. 57: 1, 2; Dan. 12: 3; Mai. 2: 6; Matt. 5: S; 
Matt. 11:28; Matt. 24:46; Matt. 25:34; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:21; 
2 Tim. 4:6-8; Heb. 11:4, 9; Heb. 11: 16; Heb. 13: 14; 1 Pet, 5:4; 



84 FUNERAL SERVICES. 

1 John 3: 2; Rey. 8: IT: Rev. 7: 16. 17: Rev. 14: 13; Isa. 26: 19 
Isa. 33: 17: Isa. 35: 9. 10: Isa. 60: 20; Luke 20: 36; John 6: 39 
John 11: 25. 26; John 14: 2. 3; Rom. 8: 1$; 1 Cor. 15: 42-44, 53, 54 

2 Cor. 5:1. 

Hymns. 
Abide with rue, fast falls the eventide. 
Asleep in Jesus: blessed sleep: 
Beyond the smiling and the weeping, etc. 
Come, ye disconsolate, etc. 
Fade. fade, each earthly joy. 
He leadeth me. O blessed thought! 
I know that my Redeemer lives. 
I need thee every hour. 
In the Christian's home in glory. 
I've reached the land of corn and wine. 
I would not live alway. 
Jesus, lover of my soul. 
Lead, kindly light, etc. 
My faith looks up to thee. 
Nearer, my God. to thee. 
Oh, think of the home over there. 
One sweetly solemn thought. 
On Jordan's stormy banks I stand. 
Rock of Ages, cleft for me. 
Savior, more than life to me. 
Shall we gather at the river? 
Sun of my soul, thou Savior dear. 
There is a land of pure delight. 
Unveil thy bosom, faithful tomb. 
We shall meet beyond the river. 
We speak of the realms of the blest. 
What a friend we have in Jesus. 
When the mists have rolled in splendor. 
While with ceaseless course the sun. 

Readings: Consolatory .— Psa. IS: 1-6; 23: 1-6; 42: 1-11; 91: 1-15; 
107: 8-21; 121: 1-8: John 14: 1-31; 2 Cor. 4: 6-18; 2 Cor. 5: 1-10. 



GIVING. 85 



Death of Children.— Eccl. 12:1-8, 13,14; Isa. 40:6-8; Matt. 
18: 1-6; 18: 10-14; 19: 13-15. 

Heaven.— Rev. 5: 1-14; 7: 9-17; 14: 1-3; 15: 2-4; 21: 1-27; 22: 1-7. 

Besurrection.— John 5:24-29; 20:1-18; Rom. 8:9-24; 1 Cor. 
15: 20-28, 35-58; 1 Thess. 4: 13-18. 

Trust.— Job 23: 1-10; Psa. 20: 1-9; 27: 1, 4-14. 

Let the minister keep these passages marked in his pocket 
Bible for ready reference. 

Poems Appropriate for Reading. 



Elegy in a Country Churchyard. — Gray. 

Hymn to Death. — Bryant. 

Extracts from In Memoriam. — Tennyson. 

Intimations of Immortality. — Wordsworth. 

Resignation . — Longfellow. 

Thanatopsis. — Bryant. 

The Reaper and the Flowers. — Longfellow. 

The Two Angels. — Longfellow. 

The Two Voices. — Tennyson. 



GIVING. 



1. The fact of receiving blessings in our need involves the 
obligation to impart to others in their need. Matt. 10: 8. 

2. All that we have we have received. 1 Chron. 29: 11, 12. 
We are but stewards, holding in trust, for certain ends, the 
treasures bestowed on us. 1 Pet. 4: 10; 1 Cor. 4: 7; 1 Chron. 
29:14, 16. 

3. It is a divine command to give. Matt. 5: 42; Luke 6: 38; 
11:41; 12: 33. 

4. We are to work in order that we may have to give. Eph. 
4:28; Acts 20: 34, 35. 



GIVING. 



5. We are to give: 

(1) According to our means. 2 Cor. 8: 12; Acts 11: 29. 

(2) First providing for honest things. 2 Cor. 7: 21. 

(3) Cheerfully. 2 Cor. 9: 7. 

(4) Bountifully. 2 Cor. 9: 5-7. 

(5) Steadily. 1 Cor. 16: 1-3. 

(6) Unitedly. 2 Cor. 8: 13, 14; Acts 11: 29. 

(7) Xot only to the poor, but for sending out the gospel, 
maintaining teachers in the church, and promoting every good 
work. 1 Cor. 9: 7-14; Phil. 4: 15-17; 3 John 5-8; 1 Tim. 5:"l7, 18; 
Gal. 6: 6-10. 

6. Motives to this duty: 

(1) Giving, it shall be given unto us. Luke 6: 38. 

(2) The Lord will deliver us in the day of trouble. Psa. 

41:1-3. 

(3) It makes us Godlike. Luke 6: 35. 

(4) It enlarges the heart, and purges it of petty scruples and 
burdensome follies. Luke 11: 41. 

(5) It gives acceptance to our prayers. Acts 10: 2-4. 

(6) Is a means of laying up treasures in heaven. 1 Tim. 
6:18, 19; Matt. 25: 34-36. 

(7) We shall reap as vre have sown. 2 Cor. 9: 6; Gal. 6: 7-10. 
A Duty and a Privilege. — A mark of true religion. Psa. 

112: 9; Isa. 32: 8; Eph. 4: 28; 1 Tim. 6: 17-19; 1 John 3: 17, 18. 

Source.— The grace of God. 2 Cor. 8: 1-25. The echo of 
God's great love in Christ to us. 

Springs from. — (1) The sweet constraint of love — love in 
the fullest sense. (2) The realization of Christian stewardship 
and consecration. What have we that we have not received, 
and which is not to be used as a talent for which we must give 
account? 

Sphere. — Unlimited; to all so far as we have the power. 
Luke 6: 30; Gal. 6: 10. To " them who are of the household of 
faith." Rom. 12:13. To the poor. Matt. 5:42; Deut. 15:11; 
Isa. 58: 7. To strangers. Lev. 25: 35. To enemies. Prov. 
25: 21. To the service of God at home and abroad. 



LITERARY SOCIETIES. 87 

Manner. — True liberality should pre-eminently be : (1) Vol- 
untary. The free-will offering of a loving heart and an open 
hand. Ex. 35: 21; Matt. 10: 8; 2 Cor. 8: 3-12. "Not grudgingly 
or of necessity, for God loveth a cheerful giver." 2 Cor. 9: 7. 
(2) Bountiful. JSTot sparingly. Prov. 22:9; 2 Cor. 8: 3; 9:7; 
Mark 12: 43, 44; Acts 2:45; 4: 36, 37. (3) Unostentatious. Matt. 
6: 3; Rom. 12: 8. (4) Prompt. Prov. 24: 11, 12. 

Measure.— (1) According liability. Deut. 16: 10-17; Matt. 
10: 8; 1 Cor. 16: 2. (2) According to a fixed and settled princi- 
ple. 1 Cor. 16: 2. Not governed by caprice and emotion, much 
less to please a friend, or make a display. 

The Model and Pattern.— The blessed Lord. 2 Cor. 8: 9. 
When Paul wished to teach liberality, he refers not to eminent 
saints, but to Him who " gave Himself." 

Value and Importance of.— There are special blessings 
annexed to Christian liberality: (1) It is peculiarly pleasing 
to God. 2 Cor. 9: 17; Heb. 13: 16. (2) A means of glorifying 
him, both in giver and receiver. 2 Cor. 9: 12, 13. (3) Con- 
nected with rich promises. Prov. 11:25; 19:17; 22:9; 28:27; 
Eccl. 11: 1, 2; Isa. 58: 6-11. (4) The benediction of Jesus upon 
it. Acts 20: 25. 



LITERARY SOCIETIES. 



Every pastor should provide for the organization of a literary 
society from the young people of his church. It will develop 
talents that will prove of service in the future work of his 
church. Let instruction be the central feature, but provide for 
the literary and musical entertainment of the society in the 
way of music, recitations, a newspaper, etc. Once fairly under 
way, it will not be suffered to die. 



88 LORD'S SUPPER 



LORD'S SUPPER. 



And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it,, 
and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; 
this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and 
gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood 
of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission 
of sins.— Matt. 26: 26-28. 

And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake 
it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body. 
And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it 
to them: and they all drank of it. And he said unto them,, 
This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. 
Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the 
vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God. 
And when they had sung a hymn, they went out into the mount 
of Olives.— Mark U: 22-26. 

And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave 
unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this 
do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, 
saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is. 
shed for you. But behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me 
is with me on the table. And truly the Son of man goeth, as it 
was determined: but woe unto that man by whom he is be- 
trayed I— Luke 22: 19-22. 

For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered 
unto you, That the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was 
betrayed, took bread: and when he had given thanks, he brake 
it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for 
you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner, 
also, he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is 
the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it„ 



LORD'S SUPPER. 89 



in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and 
drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come. — 1 Cor. 

11:23.26. 

Devotional Excerpta for the Supper. 



We do not presume to come to this thy table, O merciful 
Lord, trusting in our own 'righteousness, but in thy manifold 
and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather 
up the crumbs under thy table. But thou art the same Lord 
whose property is always to have mercy; grant us, therefore, 
gracious Lord, to eat and drink as discerning the Lord's death, 
that our souls may be washed through his most precious blood, 
and that we may evermore dwell in him and he in us. Amen. 

II. 

We glorify thy holy name, Almighty God our Heavenly 
Father, because, of thy tender mercy, thou didst give thine 
only Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer death upon the cross for our 
redemption, making a full, perfect and sufficient sacrifice for 
the sins of the whole world ; and we thank thee sincerely that 
he did institute and command us in his holy Gospel to continue 
to observe this Supper in perpetual memory of that his pre- 
cious death and sacrifice until he should come again. We pray 
that as we partake of this perishing bread we may in faith feed 
upon Him who is the true bread of life, the bread that came 
down from heaven, and that we may go hence, strengthened by 
thy Spirit in the inner man. We ask it in Christ's name. 
Amen. 

III. 

O Lord, our God, we are worms of the dust, defiled with ten- 
dencies to sin and actual sin, busy with folly and too careless 
of eternity. But we come to thee in faith and beg to be re- 
ceived into the compassionate arms of thy mercy. Cleanse 



90 LORD'S SUPPER 



ouf hearts, strengthen our faith, enliven our hopes, give us 
victory over sin and perfect us in love, patience, humility and 
obedience. Be present to illuminate, comfort and refresh thy 
people while they partake of this wine with grateful and con- 
trite hearts. May their hearts be sprinkled afresh with the 
blood that calls for mercy and forgiveness as they taste the em- 
blem of that blood which was shed for many for the remission 
of sins. We ask these things in Christ's dear name. Amen. 

IV. 

Encouraged by these memorials, dear Lord, we come to thee 
as straying sheep to their shepherd; as the sick to their physi- 
cian, and as condemned criminals to a merciful and powerful 
intercessor. Nay, more, we come as thy children, feeling their 
weakness, yet confident of thy strength; realizing their cold- 
ness and half-heartedness, yet believing in thy readiness to im- 
part thyself to them and to lift up drooping heads and hands. 
O thou who didst take upon thyself for love of us the infirmi- 
ties of our nature, give us of thy Spirit that we may be exalted 
spiritually and feel that heaven is our home. From the ample 
provisions of the Gospel, of which this is a lively memorial, 
may we derive support, strength, armor and defence. Let this 
cup of blessing be to us the communion of the blood of Christ; 
let the bread be the communion of the body of Christ. May 
they not only stir up our pure minds by way of remembrance, 
but as we partake in faith, may strength and wisdom from 
above enter into our souls, so that henceforth we may bear 
about with us continually the dying of the Lord Jesus. And 
may the consecrated life of Jesus also be manifested in our 
mortal bodies here dedicated anew to thee. Hear us for Jesus' 
sake. Amen. 

As the minister breaks the loaf and places the pieces in the 
plates, he may say, "To every humble disciple of the Lord 
here present I say: May the body of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
which was given for thee, preserve thy body and soul unto 
everlasting life. Take and eat this bread in grateful remem- 



LORD'S SUPPER. 91 



brance that Christ died for thee, and feed on him in thy heart 
by faith, with thanksgiving." 

In like manner when pouring wine into the goblets: "The 
blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was shed for thee, pre- 
serve thy body and soul unto everlasting life. Drink this in 
remembrance that Christ's blood was* shed for thee, and be 
thankful." 

It is more impressive to distribute the emblems in perfect 
silence. At the close the Doxology or some suitable hymn 
should be sung and the benediction pronounced. 

Outlines of Talks at the Communion Service. 

I. 

1 Cor. 11 : 27: Apply the word "worthy " to the conception of 
the supper, not to your character. The Corinthians had made 
a gluttonous and drunken revel of this sacred ordinance. Two 
classes of church members are unfit to partake of this sacra- 
ment, for such it is. We here renew our oath of allegiance to 
Christ and gird up our minds to a fresh struggle for glory, 
honor and immortal life. These classes are, (1) Those who 
do not discern the Lord's body, but who look upon the supper 
as a mere church form; and (2) those who take the emblems in 
a hand "soaped and dried in the tub of their own morality." 
But if you see in it a provision for your weakness, and come to 
it ruined and undone, saying, "God be merciful to me a sin- 
ner," you may be certain of the Lord's invitation and blessing. 
This supper is a 

Memorial. It throws our memory back to Jesus Christ. You 
are not invited to it because you are perfect, but because, 
though imperfect and liable to sin, you are anxious to grow 
Godward, and enter heaven at last. We are told to " examine 
ourselves," and this is well. If upon such examination you 
find that you are living in habitual sin against your conscience 
and the prohibition of God's word, forbear to eat and drink to 
the hardening of your heart. If you find sin, but a desire and 



92 LORD'S S UPPER. 



purpose io renounce it and by God's grace to walk in greater 
whiteness, partake in humble gladness. Do not vivisect your- 
selves, nor indulge in morbid introspections. The great ques- 
tion for you is not, Am I pure enough or advanced sufficiently 
in the Christian life to partake without condemnation? but 
rather this: Am I contrite in heart, penitent for sin, and de- 
termined by God's help to renounce and forsake it and become 
more and more like Jesus? If you have the heartache for sin, 
and you want to love the Savior, and feel a sinking of the soul 
because you requite him so poorly in your aflections and life, 
partake in God's name and grow from faith that is small to 
faith that is larger, deeper, tenderer. 

This service is not a merely ceremonial act. It is an act of 
love, of loyalty, of reconsecration. It is an acted prayer, be- 
seeching heavenly commiseration and help. It is a memorial 
act, a prospective act (for it looks not only backward to the 
suffering Christ, but forward to the coming and the enthroned 
Christ), and an act of supreme renewal of baptismal vows. We 
take the oath of office anew, are sworn into service afresh. 
We are fit partakers, not by our knowledge, not by acuteness 
of spiritual perception, not by length of service, not by pure- 
ness of moral character, not by faith that would move moun- 
tains, not even by love that would gladly spend and be spent, 
but by our penitence in view of having come short of our high 
ideals. Our self-examinations, honestly conducted in the light 
of Scripture, and with the aid of the Holy Spirit, will not dis- 
close qualifications such as would lead to a cool and complacent 
partaking. Rather do they disclose sin and tin worthiness. 
But if a hungering and a thirsting after righteousness be 
there, an earnest desire to get rid of sin and stand fast in the 
liberty of the sons of God, be not afraid. No such soul can eat 
and drink to condemnation. If 3*011 are impenitent or self- 
righteous, forbear. If you know that you are not what you 
ought to be, but long to be better than you are, gratefully eat 
and drink the emblems; for in recognizing that you are a sin- 



LORD'S SUPPER. 93 



ner and need a Savior, and will need him all your journey 
through, you do discern the Lord's Body. 

II. 

Mark 14: 22, 23: These words show that the Lord's Supper is 
an ordinance of thanksgiving. Otherwise it could not repre- 
sent aright the Passover which it supersedes. The Passover 
was commemorative, and its reigning spirit was that of joy. and 
thanksgiving. It recalled the safety of the Hebrews in Goshen 
from the death-angel who turned Egypt into a house of mourn- 
ing; it carried the mind back to the origin of the nation and the 
source of national blessings; it reminded the people of God's 
covenant with them. The Lord's Supper groups the most ter- 
rible facts of history, and yet it so groups them that our souls 
are thrilled and gladdened. Take the fact that there is such a 
fact as sin, and that God hates it with all the energy of his in- 
finite nature; that we ourselves were once dead in trespasses 
and sins, and that if even yet we say, "We have no sin, we de- 
ceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." Take these facts 
alone and we would be overwhelmed in a just despondency. 
But there is another order of facts of which this supper re- 
minds us. We are reminded of One who died to reconcile us to 
God and to meet the demands • of a violated law, so that God 
could be just and yet justify us sinners. It reminds us of a 
suffering Savior, of one who magnified the law of God and 
made it honorable, so that God could pardon and adopt us, 
make us joint heirs with Jesus Christ, without abating one 
whit the claims of his law or permitting it to be prostrated and 
broken in the interests of mercy and compassion. It reminds 
us that the claims of the moral government have been fully 
met. That the salvation accomplished by Jesus is a completed 
one from the side of heaven, and that if we appropriate that 
finished salvation God is pledged to sustain us in the saved life. 
And while this ordinance brings to us vividly the fact of the 
Lord's absence in his glorified body, it also suggests to us his 
spiritual presence and helpfulness, and his coming again to 



94 LORD'S SUPPER. 



gather up his jewels. " Do this in remembrance of Me " — not 
of Me, as a dead fact stranded on the shores of the oblivious 
ages, but of Me as a warm, living, loving presence in the midst 
of sincere worshipers in all the ages that have elapsed or will 
elapse from the parting on Olivet until the glorious coming of 
the Son of God to close the Gospel dispensation. While it looks 
back then to the Garden, the Cross, the Tomb and the Parting, 
it looks forward to thrones and celestial mansions, the kingdom 
of glory and to blessed meetings, where farewell words shall 
never more be spoken. 

III. 

We do not approach these emblems of the broken body and 
shed blood of our Lord and Master carelessly, irreverently, 
ceremonially. Nor do we come believing that by any priestly 
magic or conjuration the bread has become other than bread 
or the wine converted into the actual blood of Jesus Christ. 
The bread represents the body of Christ and the wine represents 
his precious blood. We come in meekness and faith, receiving 
the word of God with its precious promises, by means of which 
we have, in greater or less measure according to the proportion 
of faith, practice and experience, become partakers of the 
divine nature. We come as those for whom Christ has died 
and as clothed upon with his spotless righteousness. We come 
not in our own righteousness, but as accepted in the beloved, as 
his loving and growing disciples, in whom the Spirit is ever carry- 
ing on his blessed work of cleansing, renewing and strengthen- 
ing. We come spiritually discerning the great sacrifice, and 
anxious to be released from the least and last remains of sin. 
We come believing that he will reveal himself as the consoler, 
the strengthener, the comforter, and that going hence our souls 
will be less soiled during the coining week with the contamina- 
tions of the world, because he has revealed himself to us in this 
simple feast as he does not unto the world. Come not, then, 
with unholy tempers, with unforgiving hearts, with secret and 
cherished lusts— but come resolving to give up everything in 



LORD'S SUPPER. 95 



the future that bars out the full light of God's countenance. 
Come with the holy ambition to have the Son fully revealed 
and formed within you — to pass into a condition of complete 
and regnant similarity of feeling with God. Come, and with 
penitent hearts feed upon the emblems of the broken body and 
shed blood of Jesus Christ. 

IV. 

Significance of the Lord's Supper. 

1. It smites the humble heart with a sense of the love of 
God who spared not his own Son for us. u What hast thou 
done for me? " 

2. The table is spread, and we are invited to partake. The 
partaking is our own act. God spreads the banquet of salva- 
tion. We must partake. Salvation, like this bread and this 
wine, is God's gift. 

3. This sacred feast should open our hearts to Christ. Let 
us remember what he was, what he did, and what he said. 

4. Let it remind us of a greater slavery than that of Egypt, 
a greater task-master than Pharaoh. 

5. Let it remind us that the death of Christ means some- 
thing. We may not understand its philosophy or rationale, but 
it is founded in the eternal necessity and fitness of things. 

6. We feed upon Christ by faith, upon the example of his 
lustrous life, upon his words that have put iron into the thin 
blood of the ages. We are invigorated by his truth, consoled by 
his promises, cheered by his prophecies. 

7. We must not come mechanically and perfunctorily, but 
cheerfully, hopefully, believingly. 

8. We are taught by the distribution of the emblems that no 
Christian man must live unto himself or for himself. Let him 
scatter spiritual blessings. 

9. We are taught that we should call nothing common. See 
the sacred use of common things. The bread and wine repre- 
sent the body and blood of God's dear Son. Let our lives and 
callings be transfigured likewise. 



96 LORD'S SUPPER. 



10. It is a communion with God in Christ, and with one 
another. 

11. This no selfish gathering of self-complacent Pharisees, 
but of humble saints, rejoicing in a fountain opened for sin and 
a fountain for uncleanness and refreshment on the way as well. 

12. It is a prophecy of a second coming "without sin unto 
salvation." 

13. It celebrates afresh the birthday of every Christian par- 
ticipant's soul, as the Passover did of the Jewish nation. 

14. Coming to us in unbroken continuity of observance from 
the time of Christ, it is an inexpugnable proof of the life and 
death of Jesus Christ. 

15. To sum up: It is a tender commemoration, a blissful 
communion, an authoritative proclamation, an unanswerable 
witness, and a glorious prefiguration. Alleluia. 

V. 

Matt. 26: 27: The cup presents two aspects: 

1. As viewed by the Savior, and 

2. As viewed by man, the sinner. 

1. Christ saw in the cup (a) his death as a felon; (b) the 
hiding of his Father's face; (c) himself as bearing the burden 
of a world's sin. Yet "he gave thanks:" Father, I thank thee 
(1) for the opportunity of magnifying thy law; (2) of revealing 
thy comprehension of the value of man's soul; (3) of manifest- 
ing the depth of thy love for the world; (4) I thank thee that I 
"see my seed" in all the coming ages out of and beyond the 
travail that is before me; I thank thee that Satan's triumph is 
short-lived, and that his apparent victory is the seal of his final 
discomfiture; I thank thee that I taste death for every man and 
at the same time taste the overflowing fulness of thy love, 
making it possible that all should believe, obey and be saved. 

2. Man sees in the cup (a) forgiveness; (b) reconcilia- 
tion; (c) freedom from sin; (d) eternal life of progress in per- 
fection. There is no wrath foaming upon the surface of this 
cup, no bitter dregs beneath. 



MARRIAGE. 97 



Infinite benevolence and infinite foresight inspired the 
thankfulness of Jesus. 

If Jesus could thankfully take the cup that symbolized his 
death, let us thankfully take the cup that symbolizes his fin- 
ished work for our salvation. 



MARRIAGE. 



Whoso findeth a wife, findeth a good thing, and obtaineth 
favor of the Lord.— Prov. 18: 22. 

Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treach- 
erously against the wife of his youth. — Mai. 2: 15. 

For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall 
cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh. Where- 
fore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore 
God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. — Matt. 19:6. 

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the 
church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and 
cleanse it with the washing of water by the word. 

So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He 
that loveth his wife loveth himself. 

Let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as 
himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband. — 
Eph. 5: 25, 26, 33. 

A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband. Her price is 
far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust 
in her. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her 
life. Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth 
among the elders of the land. Strength and honor are her 
clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. She openeth 
7 



98 MARRIAGE, 



her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kind- 
ness. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eat- 
eth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and call 
her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. A woman 
that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. — From the 12th and 
31st chapters of Proverbs. 

Likewise ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; 
that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word 
be won by the behavior of the wives; while they behold your 
chaste behavior coupled with fear: Likewise ye husbands, 
dwell with them according to knowledge [of God's will re- 
specting this holy relationship], giving honor unto the wife, as 
unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the 
grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered. Be like- 
minded, sympathetic, tender-hearted, humble-minded: not ren- 
dering evil for evil, or reviling for reviling; but contrariwise 
blessing. — From 1 Peter, 3d chapter. 

Matrimony is not, as Romanists affirm, a Sacrament of the 
Gospel, but it is an honorable estate instituted of God in the 
time of man's innocency, and therefore not to be entered into 
irreverently and lightly, but soberly, discreetly and in the fear 
of God. It is not a badge by which Christian men are dis- 
cerned from others. Nor is it, in any sense save by the influ- 
ence of pious companionship, a means whereby pardon of sins 
and inward sanctification are conveyed to us by the Spirit of 
God. To the gracious exemplary influence of a devout wife, 
the Apostle Peter alludes when he speaks of wives saving their 
husbands " without the word;" that is to say, if a wife's life is 
a living epistle of the truth, her husband's aversion to religion 
will be replaced by a sincere admiration therefor, seeing its 
blessed influence over his partner and in his home. Thus he 
may be led to Christ through her as a minister of God — led to 
the Bible and to the Church, where he may receive with meek- 
ness the engrafted word which is able to save his soul. In the 
5th chapter of Ephesians, Paul alludes to it as a " mystery,' * 



MARRIAGE. 



99 



not as a sacrament. The apostle's meaning is that marriage is 
a figure, type or mystery of the union and marriage betwixt 
Christ and his Church. Tertullian says, "Adam's calling Eve 
bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh was concerning Christ 
and his Church. " Chrysostom declares, "Marriage was an 
allegory of Christ's union to his bride, the Church." 

Remarks. — The bride stands on the left of the bridegroom 
during the marriage ceremony. The bridesmaids stand on 
the same side with the bride, and the groomsmen on the same 
side with the groom. If a dinner or wedding supper follow the 
ceremony, the bridesmaids and groomsmen should be so alter- 
nated at table that two ladies do not sit together without a 
gentleman between. 

When the parents of the contracting couple are living and 
present, let them stand a little in the rear of the officiating 
minister, those of the bride at the minister's right, and the 
groom's on the left, facing the couple to be married. They 
ought to be the first to greet the newly-married pair. This ar- 
rangement enables the bride's father to give away the bride 
without confusion. If her father is dead or absent, a male rela- 
tive or guardian can act in his stead, occupying his position on 
the floor. 

The following is one of the recent forms of ceremony: The 
bridal party having formed for entrance, the ushers, in pairs, 
march very slowly (or keeping step to the music of piano, or- 
gan or orchestra) to the pulpit, or whatever place is occupied 
by the minister who is "to solemnize" the rite. Coming near 
to him, they turn in a file to their right and the minister's left. 
After a brief interval the bridesmaids follow, in pairs, and turn 
to their left and the minister's right (as he stands), and they are 
followed at a slight distance by the bride who is closely veiled. 
The groom now advances from the rear of the minister, takes 
her hand and places her on his left immediately in front of the 
minister. The parents of the bride, having followed her, stand 
just behind and a little to her left. This enables the father to 



100 MARRIAGE. 



give the bride away and return to his position without break- 
ing the file of bridesmaids. 

The service being concluded, the bride and groom pass out 
together, slowly followed by the bridesmaids, each upon the 
arm of an usher, who (when the ceremony is performed in 
church) hasten to the home of the bride to present congratula- 
:: ns, etc. 

It is considered a breach of etiquette to leave the pews until 
the bridal party is out of the church and in their carriages. 

Sometimes the groom leads in the bride's mother immedi- 
ately following the " waiters.'' They take their position on 
the minister's left, until the bride is placed by her father or 
nearest male relative immediately in front of the minister. 
Then the groom and father change places. When the question 
is asked. "Who giveth this woman to be married to this man - ?" 
the father, or reh r male friend acting in his stead, ad- 

vances, takes the >y the hand, leads her to the minister, 

who places her hand in that of the groom. 

The bride's glove should be removed at the "ringing " by the 
first bridesmaid, or her glove-finger, already ripped in the seam 
to prevent awkward delay, turned down by her. 

Of course these directions are simply recommendatory to 
those who desire a public and somewhat formal wedding, 
whether that take place in a church or a private house. The 
minister should strive to make the ceremony solemn and im- 
pressive by good reading and speaking. k, Let all things be 
done decently and in order. n 

A Okremont. 

When the persons to be married are assembled with their 
friends, the man standing with the woman on his left, the min- 
ister may. if he deems it advisable, address those present in 
these words (or he may omit all before the prayer): 

1. We are assembled in the sight of God. and in the pres- 
ence of this company, to join together this man and this 
woman in holy matrimony. If any person can show just cause 






MIRRTAGE 101 



why they may not be lawfully joined together, let him now 
speak, or else hereafter forever hold his peace. 

And, also, speaking to the persons to be married, he may 
say: 

2. I require and charge you both, as ye will answer at the 
day of judgment, when the secrets of all hearts shall be dis- 
closed, that if either of you know any impediment, why you 
may not be lawfully united in matrimony, you do now confess 
the same. For be you well assured, that those who are joined 
together otherwise than God's holy word doth allow, their 
marriage is not lawful. 

The following prayer shall then be offered: 

3. Almighty God, who givest to thy children all things 
richly to enjoy, send down thy blessings upon us, and guide our 
hearts to the love of all goodness, and confirm us in the same. 
Enable these thy servants, who are about sacredly and pub- 
licly to pledge to each other their mutual faith and love, deeply 
and reverently to feel the full solemnity of the obligations into 
which they enter. Teach them to feel their entire dependence 
upon thee; and that which they solemnly promise, may they 
lovingly, heartily and continuously perform, through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. Amen. 

The minister shall then cause the man and woman to join 
their right hands, and shall address the man in these words: 

4. , do you, in the presence of God and of these wit- 
nesses, solemnly declare that you take this woman to be your 
lawful and wedded wife, to live together, after God's ordi- 
nance, in the holy estate of matrimony? And do you promise, 
as you hope for the mercy of God, that you will love her, com- 
fort her, honor her, and keep her in sickness and in health, in 
prosperity and in adversity; and that, forsaking all others, you 
will be faithful to her, conducting yourself towards her in all 
respects as a dutiful and affectionate husband, until God shall 
separate you by death? All this will you faithfully strive to 
do, God being your helper? 

The man shall answer in a distinct voice, I will. 



102 MARRIAGE. 



Then shall the minister say unto the woman : 

5. , do you, in the presence of God and of these wit- 
nesses, solemnly declare that you take this man to be your 
lawful and wedded husband, to live together, after God's ordi- 
nance, in the holy estate of matrimony? And do you promise, 
as you hope for the mercy of God, that you will love him, com- 
fort him, honor him, and keep him in sickness and in health, in 
prosperity and in adversity; and that, forsaking all others, you 
will be faithful to him, conducting yourself towards him in all 
respects as a dutiful and affectionate wife, until God shall sepa- 
rate you by death? This will you faithfully do, God being 
your helper? 

The woman shall answer distinctly, I will. 

[If a ring is used, the man shall here give it to the woman, 
at the direction of the minister, putting it upon the third finger 
of the left hand. And the man, holding the ring there, shall 
say, as taught by the minister, " With this ring I wed thee, and 
with my worldly goods I thee endow; and upon our union I 
ask the benediction of Almighty God."] 

The minister shall then say, 

6. I, , an ordained minister of Jesus Christ, having 

witnessed your mutual vows, do pronounce you to be, by the 
laws of God and man, husband and wife. Those whom God 
hath joined together let not man put asunder. 

Then shall be offered this prayer : 

7. O Eternal God, giver of all spiritual grace, send thy 
blessings upon these thy servauts, whom we bless in thy name. 
Enable them to perform with gladness the covenant which they 
have now made in thy presence. May they dwell together in 
IDeace and love, in holiness and comfort; in the Christian faith, 
and in the practice of all Christian virtues. Bless, preserve 
and keep them; fill them with all spiritual benediction and 
grace; and keep them so to live together in this life, that in the 
world to come they may enter upon life everlasting. We ask 
this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 



MARRIAGE. 103 



The scriptual passages may be read before the actual cere- 
mony begins. 

I. 

1. Read suitable scriptural passages. 
Then shall the minister say, 

2. We are met together, dear friends, to join together this 
man and this woman [here give their names] in the holy bonds 
of matrimony, which is an estate instituted by God in the time 
of man's innocence — (himself performing the first marriage 
rite) — an estate adorned by the presence and guarded by the 
teaching of our Savior, — an estate made honorable by the 
faithful keeping and profound respect of good men and women 
in all time. It is not therefore to be entered into lightly or un- 
advisedly by any one, but soberly, discreetly, and in the fear of 
God. 

Let us pray. 

3. Heavenly Father, by whose word these thy children were 
created, and by whose watchful care and providence they have 
hitherto been preserved and brought unto this hour, we en- 
treat thee to approve their deliberate purpose, and to grant to 
its fulfillment the sanction of thy Holy Spirit. Through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. Amen. 

4. , wilt thou have this woman to be thy wedded wife, 

to live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of mat- 
rimony? Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honor and keep her 
in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, and, forsaking 
all others, keep thee only unto her so long as ye both shall live? 

The man shall answer, I will. 

Then shall the minister say to the woman: 

, wilt thou have this man to be thy wedded husband, to 

live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of matri- 
mony? Wilt thou love him, comfort him, honor and keep him 
in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, and, forsaking 
all others, keep thee only unto him so long as ye both shall 
live? 



104 MARRIAGE. 



The woman shall answer, I will. 

If a ring is used, the man shall now put it upon the fourth 
finger of the woman's left hand [counting the thumb as one], 
and, holding it there, shall, after the minister, repeat these 
words: 

With this ring I thee wed; and I promise to keep myself to 
thee only, so long as we both shall live. 

Then shall the minister say: 

6. Forasmuch as and have privately consented 

to give themselves each to the other, and have publicry ratified 
the same before God and this company in the most sacred and 

solemn manner, now, therefore, I, , a minister of the 

Gospel, in conformity with the law of God, and with the law 
of this commonwealth, do pronounce them to be husband and 
wife. United both by the sanctions of religion and the author- 
ization of the civil law, let no man venture to put them 
asunder. 

Let us pray. 

7. Giver of all good and fountain of all true joy, thou guide, 
support, and felicity of all who meekly put their trust in thee: 
we reverently and lovingly beseech thee to bless these thy ser- 
vants just entering upon a holy and heaven- blessed, but to 
them untried relationship. May their hearts ever remain 
united in the closest bonds of love. May they be counsel and 
strength, and light and comfort one to the other. May they 
ever be sharers of each other's joys, consolers of each other's 
sorrows, and sympathetic helpers to each other in all the 
changes and chances of this world. Hand in hand, and heart 
with heart, trusting in each other and confiding in thee, may 
they tread helpfully and hopefully the path of life. Be thou. O 
Father, their guard and guide. And lead them through this 
transitory world to the life eternal. We ask in Jesus' name. 
Amen. 

8. The Lord mercifully with his favor look upon you, and 
fill you with all spiritual grace; the Lord help you so to live to- 
gether in this life that in the world to come ye may have life 
everlasting. Amen. 



MARRIAGE. 105 



Outline of Sermon on Courtship and Marriage. 

1. Old-fashioned words and an old-fashioned subject. But 
who can estimate the importance of these two matters to the 
State, the church, the people themselves. Marriage the high- 
est union of two human souls. It may be loveless, joyless, but 
its bonds once riveted can never be unclasped without dis- 
graceful publicity, and only for one cause. Mothers seek a 
"good match" for their daughters, often ignoring the charac- 
ter of the man to whom they give their child. Gold wins, and 
the girl is as much sold as any Circassian girl in a Turkish 
market-place. Oh, the deep debasement of the "Christian " (?) 
mother who seeks to palliate her infamous act of barter and 
sale for wealth alone by the words, "Men will be men." 

2. A true wife is her husband's second self in thought, and 
sympathy, and action. There are wives who keep in sight of 
their husbands, whatever his advance in science or art. They 
cannot bear that he should dwell in a world to which they are 
strangers. They are the sunshine of their husbands' homes, 
the loadstones that keep them cheerfully to grinding toil, the 
magnets that draw them on winged feet to their own sweet 
homes. If the married lives of our people are happy ones, it 
requires no prophet to foresee a happy future for the nation 
and a populous heaven. There is a domestic hierarchy in 
which the faithful wife is the true high priestess. 

3. The spring must be pure if the stream is to be bright and 
full of joy songs. Parents, look to the character of your daugh- 
ters' suitors. Ask no questions as to property or ability to 
support a wife before the searching inquisition into character. 
Let that be first and paramount. If you sacrifice your flesh 
and blood on the altar of money or caste, you are no better 
than those who passed their sons and daughters through the 
fire to Moloch. 

4. Is he honest, sober, industrious? Ask this of all about you. 
If the reply is yes, ask no more, you have done your duty, but 
if you do less than this, the blood of a sacrificed child will cry 
from the ground with a more relentless cry than that of Abel. 



106 MARRIAGE, 



A More Formal Ceremony. 

1. Citation of Scriptures and general remarks on marriage. 

2. Brief prayer for those entering into that estate. 

3. Personal charge to the persons to be married. 

4. Obligating the man by the usual questions. 

5. Obligating the woman by the usual questions. 

[In reference to the word " obey " it is best to qualify it by 
some addition, for it is certainly not the Lord's will that a 
woman should obey a command directed against her conscien- 
tious convictions. A husband may either be or become a 
brute, and may wish his wife to renounce her faith, to leave off 
prayer, church attendance, etc. When I do not leave out the 
word obey, I qualify it by adding, " In all things not forbidden 
by your conscience and the word of God."] 

6. "Who giveth this woman to be married to this man?" 

7. The trothing. [The man receiving the woman at the 
minister's hands, or at the hands of her father or friend, shall 
take her by the right hand, and say after the minister, a few 
words at a time, as follows:] 

I take thee, , to be my wedded wife: to have and to 

hold from this day forward: for better, for worse: for richer, 
for poorer: in sickness and in health: to love and to cherish: till 
death do us part: and thereto I plight my sacred word. 

[The woman shall do the same, making the necessary change 
of name.] 

8. The minister will now ask, Have you a ring, sir? [The 
groom takes the ring from the vest pocket on his right side 
and hands it to the woman, who passes it to the minister.] The 
latter, holding it up, may make some remarks on the meaning 
of the ring, of the circle, of gold; then he will hand it to the 
groom who will put it upon the fourth finger of the woman's 
left hand, and, holding it there, repeat after the minister this 
formula: "With this ring I wed thee: and with my worldly 
goods I thee endow: and on our union of hearts and interests: I 
ask the blessing of Almighty God." 

[The colons in the formulas in No. 7 and No. 8 indicate 



MARRIAGE. 107 



where the minister is to pause until the person repeating 
catches up with him. The suspensions are at short intervals to 
prevent blunders.] 

9. Immediately after the ' ' ringing, " the minister may de- 
liver the following prayer : 

O Eternal God, creator and preserver of all mankind, giver 
of all spiritual grace, the author of everlasting life; send thy 
blessing upon these thy servants, this man and this woman, 
whom we bless in thy name; that, as Isaac and Rebecca lived 
faithfully together, so these persons may surely perform and 
keep the vow and covenant betwixt them made, and may ever 
remain in perfect love and peace together, and live according 
to thy laws; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

10. [Then shall the minister join their right hands together, 
and, holding them with his own, reverently and solemnly say:] 

Those who have been joined together in accordance with the 
law of God and the law of this commonwealth, let no man put 
asunder. 

11. [Releasing their hands and surveying the company, the 
minister will now make this proclamation:] 

Forasmuch as and have privately consented to- 
gether to live henceforth in holy wedlock, and have publicly 
reaffirmed their private contract in the most solemn manner 
by calling upon God and this company to witness the sacred 

obligation, now, therefore, I, — , a minister of the Gospel 

of Jesus Christ, do by virtue of the authority vested in my 
office by the authority of the State, solemnly pronounce that 
they are Husband and Wife. 

12. [The minister shall add this blessing, the persons kneel- 
ing if it is agreeable to them:] 

God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, bless, preserve, and 
keep you; the Lord mercifully with his favor look upon you, 
and fill you with all spiritual benediction and grace; the Lord 
fill your home with peace and plenty and prosper the labor of 
your hands; the Lord make your hearts the dwelling-place of 
love and joy, and help you so to live together in this life that 
you may be heirs together of everlasting life. Amen. 



108 MISSIONS. 



MISSIONS. 



1. By aiding foreign missions the church gains in self-sacri- 
fice. Self-sacrifice is the essence of Christ's life and of the 
Christian life. 

2. By aiding the cause of foreign missions the church gains 
interest and enjoyment in the home work (domestic missions) 
and in the local work. 

3. Missionary activity will kill all gushy " liberalism " and 
tone a church to doctrinal soundness. Xo idle, indifferent 
church can have a living faith. 

4. No missionary, self-sacrificing church is on the defensive. 
All infidels in its reach will in their hearts say, ''The presump- 
tion is for Christianity." 

5. The missionary spirit is destructive of the caste spirit. It 
and it alone realizes the meaning of the Scripture, "There is 
neither Jew nor Greek," etc. The missionary spirit proclaims 
the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. 

A Reading ox Missionary Work. 

1. Ground of missionary work. Matt. 28: 19, 20; John 3: 16. 

2. The need of it. Rom. 10: 13-15. 

3. Its purpose. Acts 26: 15-18. 

4. Ways of helping this work. Isa. 6: 8; 2 Cor. 1: 11; 2 Cor. 
8: 2-7. 

5. The spirit in which it should be done. 1 Chron. 29: 9; 2 
Cor. 9:7; Col. 3: 23. 

6. Promises concerning missionary work. Isa. 40: 9; Hab. 
2: 14; Matt. 24: 14; Rev. 11: 19. 

7. The reward of a share in such a work. Prov. 11: 25; Job 
29: 13; Matt. 25:23. 

8. Sin of standing aloof. 2 Kings 7: 9; Judges 5: 23; Prov. 
24: 11, 12; Matt. 25:25, 26. 

[Read ChristlieVs Protestant Foreign Missions; Boyce's 
Statistics of Protestant Foreign Missionary Societies; Dorches- 
ter's Problem of Religious Progress.] 



MISSIONS. 



109 



Mission Talks. 



Matt. 5: 14. 
We are rather light-bearers than light. 

1. God has sent a great Light into this dark world. It was a 
dark world when Jesus came. (Matt. 4: 16; Luke 2: 32; John 
1:4, 5; 2 Cor. 4:6.) 

(1) Light reveals darkness. The gospel shows a man to 
himself, and a nation to itself. 

(2) Light quickens any life there may be in the darkness. 
Some crying out for purity and God in heathenism, ''feeling 
after God, if haply they may find him." 

2. God wants Christ, the Light, to shine throughout the 
world. 

(1) The first and second lessons of Peter's great sheet. 

(2) Light a fitting figure of the gospel because it goes every- 
where, piercing through the narrowest crevices, visiting rich 
and poor, tinting the flowers alike in Shaw's magnificent garden 
and in the garret window of a poor tenement on a dingy street. 

Illustrate what Christ, the Light, might be for India, China, 
Africa, — for every place where moral darkness broods. 

3. God wants light-bearers to hold up his saving light. He 
wants an atmosphere to carry this Sunbeam, a candlestick on 
which to lift it up. And just this he asks us to be. 

(1) Illustrate the difficulty in securing a division of the elec- 
tric light. But Christ as the Light can be divided, and each of 
us can hold up its full blaze to men. We cannot have Christ 
ourselves without wanting to tell others of him. 

(2) We can lift up the light in our homes, in our neighbor- 
hood, in our social and business life. But we cannot go in per- 
son to carry it abroad. Then the next best thing is to go by 
deputy, for we must either go or send. There is no discharge 
or exemption save by substitution in this war of Light vs. 
Darkness. The missionaries abroad are our accredited agents, 
our personal substitutes as light-bearers. Let us pray for them 



110 MISSIONS. 



and support them by our means, that they may be able to hold 
up the light whereby all men may be saved. 

II. 

John 1 : 41. 

1. The Old Testament reveals the incapacity of humanity to 
rise and return to God. The Mosaic ritual speaks of the weak- 
ness of human nature in every observance. The thoughtful 
Jew saw by it the need of power to undo Adam's work, and 
restore man to sonship with God. The Law was our body-slave 
{paidagogos) to lead us by the hand to Christ, the true strength 
of man. (Gal. 3:24.) 

2. The Xew Testament reveals the capacity of man in Christ 
to return to God, to do his will, to live for him in a world of 
sense and unspirituality. We also see in the Xew Testament 
the exalted destiny of the race in Christ, united to him by the 
supernatural life of the church. Christianity not only pro- 
claims our fall, but places in our hands the means and power 
to rise again. 

3. Andrew a missionary. He first found Jesus himself. He 
abode with Christ for a season (an essential for missionary 
success). We cannot teach that which we have not ourselves 
learnt. Then he went forth and brought his own brother, 
Peter, to Christ. He also brought the Greeks. (John 12: 20, 22.) 
His gift was to encourage the timid, to bridge over the gulf 
between the soul and its Redeemer. The real yearning of the 
race is not for power, wealth, or the vast treasures expressed in 
the word, "civilization," but for reconciliation with God in 
Christ Jesus. 

4. This bringing souls to Christ the glorious prerogative of 
the missionary. His message of " pardon through the Precious 
Blood" the only message that will satisfy the heart of man, 
still its fears, calm its anxieties. As Christians redeemed and 
under infinite obligations, we must use our gifts to bring souls 
to him who died to reconcile us to God, to break down the walls 
of partition which yet stand, and make all nations gloriously 
one in faith and practice. 



MISCELLANEOUS. Ill 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



I. 

Church Letters. 

A letter of commendation or dismissal ought to mean 
something. It should not be granted as a matter of course for 
the mere asking, but should express the honest conviction (1) of 
the official board, and (2) of the congregation. 

The following form is a good one: The Church of Christ at 
, to the Church of Christ [or to the Dis- 
ciples of Christ], wherever this may come, greeting: This is to 

certify that the bearer, , is a member with us 

in good standing and full fellowship, and as such we cordially 

commend to your Christian love and oversight. By 

order of the Church, this day of , 18 — . 

II. 

Baptismal Certificate. 

This is to certify that on the day of , 18 — , I im- 
mersed upon confession of faith in Jesus 

Christ. , Evangelist. 

It may not be convenient at all times for a baptized person 
to present himself to the congregation for the hand of fellow- 
ship and a public reception into a local congregation. Sick- 
ness, distance from a congregation of Disciples, or some other 
good reason may exist for such delay. All who are baptized 
should have some evidence of a documentary kind, if they de- 
sire it, and most of them will value it highly, especially if the 
certificate is neatly printed and contains a number of scrip- 
tural passages bearing upon baptism. 



' 



112 MISCELLANEOUS. 



III. 
• List of Revival Themes. 

1. Why I believe the Bible. 

2. Claims of the Christian religion. 

3. Man's condition not benefited by rejecting the Christian 
religion. 

4. Who was Jesus Christ? 

5. What did he teach? 

6. The Cross and its lessons. 

7. What sin is. 

8. Conviction of sin. 

9. Repentance towards God. 

10. Conversion. What it is, and what not. 

11. Salvation from sin. 

12. The Dispensations. • 

13. The six missions. 

14. The folly and danger of rejecting the Gospel. 

15. Reaping as we sow. 

16. The tendency to fixedness of character. 

17. The law of pardon. 

18. Pentecost and its lessons. 

19. The conversion of the Eunuch. 

20. The conversion of Cornelius. 

21. The conversion of Lydia. 

22. The conversion of the jailer. 

23. The conversion of Paul. 

24. Faith. 

25. The nature and duty of repentance. 

26. Baptism. Its action, subjects and design. 

27. To-day and to-morrow. 

28. The righteousness which is of faith. Rom. 10: 6-10. 

29. The Prodigal Son. 

30. Christ in the Old Testament. 

31. The wounds of Jesus. 

32. The soul's pleas. Psa. 86: 1-5. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 113 



33. Salvation. 

34. What keeps you back? 

35. Moral insanity. 

36. Tokens of perdition. 

37. The desperate effort. Matt. 11 : 12. 

38. The atonement gives peace. 1 John 1: 7. 

39. Terms of appropriation. 

40. Necessity of regeneration. John 3: 3. 

41. The new birth. 

42. The Word not a dead letter. 

43. The work of the Spirit. 

44. Are we guilty? 

45. Can we merit salvation? 

46. Justification. 

47. Two opinions. 1 Kings 18: 21. 

48. The worth of the soul. • 

49. Testimony of Infidelity. 

50. Paul before Felix. 

51. Paul before Agrippa. 

52. Saved by grace. 

53. The good old way. 

54. Touching Jesus. 

55. The woman at the well. 

56. Jacob and Esau. 

57. Nothing to pay. 

58. Call of Jesus. 

59. Call of the Bride. 

60. The call of conscience. 

61. The call of your heart. 

[The foregoing list has been carefully selected from my own 
repertoire of subjects. It will be found to have sufficient 
variety, and it may be usefully suggestive to a young or inex- 
perienced minister.] 
8 



114 MOTTOES. 



MOTTOES. 



For Sunday-school banners, or walls of Sunday-school room: 
81 Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me. n 

I love them that love me ; and those that seek me early shall 
find me.— Prov. 5: 17. 

Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth. — Eccl. 
12: 1. 

Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the 
fear of the Lord.— Psa. 34: 11. 

Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace and pursue it. — 
Psa. 34: U. 

If sinners entice thee, consent thou not. — Prov. 1: 10. 

Many congregations use cards setting forth some of their re- 
ligious aims and principles. These are distributed at the 
church door, and used by the minister in his work. Specimens 
are given: 

What we Have in View. 

1 . The exaltation of Christ as the only infallible Leader and 
Teacher. 

2. The rejection of all human creeds as superfluous, pre- 
sumptuous and divisive, and the acceptance of the New Testa- 
ment as the only sufficient rule of Christian faith and practice. 

3. The bringing together of God's people, now sadly divided 
upon " untaught questions," into one body, wearing a scrip- 
tural name, and keeping the ordinances and the doctrines as 
they were delivered in the beginning. 

4. The restoration and general acceptation of terms of fel- 
lowship, which shall be as broad as they were in apostolic- 
times, and identical with them. 



MOTTOES. 115 



Questions. 

1. Did Christ intend his church to be organically and consti- 
tutionally "one body?" 

2. Does he not in his intercessory prayer (John 17) make the 
unity of his disciples a condition of the world's conversion? 

3. Is not denominationalism, with its party names, party 
creeds, and its party spirit, at war with Christ's prayer? 

4. Has not Christ given a clear and definite credal founda- 
tion for his church building? Is this credal foundation a trust 
in a divine person and a loyal obedience to him, or is it the ac- 
ceptance of certain theological dogmas? 

5. Ought not men to forsake party platforms, party names, 
and party banners, and stand together on the original founda- 
tion with no master but Christ, no guide but his Word and 
Spirit, and no party but his Church? 

Which Shall it Be? 

1. The Christianity of the New Testament, taught by Christ 
and his apostles, or the theology of the creeds, taught by falli- 
ble men? 

2. The divine confession of faith, on which Christ built his 
church, or human confessions, on which men have split the 
church? 

3. The unity of Christ's disciples, for which he so fervently 
prayed, or the continuance of divisions which his apostles so 
strongly condemned? 

4. The common family name and the common faith based 
on divine authority, or sectarian names and practices based on 
human authority? 

5. The hearty co-operation of Christians in efforts of world- 
wide evangelization, or the petty jealousies and strifes in the 
struggle for denominational pre-eminence? Which? 

Our Position. 

1. We aim to restore the doctrine and practice of the Apos- 
tolic Church. 



116 NEW YEAR. 



2. To repudiate altogether every form of creed, ecclesias- 
tical order and name apart from the New Testament. 

3. To bring about and maintain a union of believers, and to 
develop the Church of God in its life, its power and work on 
the earth, as designed by God, without human or extra-scrip- 
tural devices. 



NEW YEAR. 



Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations. 
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst 
formed the earth or the world, even from everlasting to ever- 
lasting, thou art God. 

For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when 
it is past, and as a watch in the night. Thou carriest them 
away as with a flood; they are as a sleep. We bring our years 
to an end as a tale that is told. Let thy work appear unto thy 
servants, and thy glory upon their children. And let the 
beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish thou the 
work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands estab- 
lish thou it.— Psa. 90. 

It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing 
praises unto thy name, O Most High: to show forth thy loving 
kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night. — 
Psa. 92: 12. 

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth 
and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and 
steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where 
neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not 
break through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there 
will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye: if 
therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of 
light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of 



NEW YEAR 117 



darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, 
how great is that darkness! No man can serve two masters: 
for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he 
will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve 
God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, take no thought 
for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet 
for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than 
meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: 
for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; 
yet your heavenly Father feecleth them. Are ye not much bet- 
ter than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one 
cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? 
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, 
neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, that even Solo- 
mon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Where- 
fore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and 
to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe 
you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, 
What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal 
shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles 
seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of 
all tfiese things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his 
righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 
Take, therefore, no thought for the morrow: for the morrow 
shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the 
day is the evil thereof.— Matt. 6: 19-34.— Matt. 6:19-34. 

Prayer. 

Our Father in heaven, unto thee we come, that we may re- 
ceive thy blessing as we enter upon this new year. Thou 
knowest the end from the beginning, while we know only that 
some year must be our last in this life. While we know not 
what a day may bring forth, we have faith that thou doest all 
things well, and that all things work together for good to those 
who love God. We confess, O Father, that in the past year we 
left many things undone that we might have done. We pray 



118 NEW YEAR. 



that thou wilt forgive us our shortcomings, and that we mar 
hereafter be more mindful of our obligations to God, ourselves, 
and our fellows, and may more faithfully perform all the 
duties of life. Forgive and bless thy waiting people here. 
May the present year be one of prosj)erity to them. Bless them 
in body, in basket and store, in their home and church life, in 
their several callings — but, above all, bless them in spirit, that 
they may grow in grace and in the knowledge of thy will. 
Make us strong to meet our trials, and helpful to others in 
trouble. Help us so to live in this world that we may lay up 
treasures where neither moth nor rust doth consume, and 
where thieves do not break through nor steal. We ask all in 
the name of Him who teaches his disciples to pray, saying, 
[Lord's Prayer by all.] 

I. 
A Xew Year's Sermon Outline. 

Text: Phil. 2: 23. 

1. Our inability to look into the future: 

(a) It is best we should not be able. Let us content our- 
selves with the knowledge that God can, and we are his. 

(b) Consult your past private history. 

2. The use we should make of this ignorance: 

(a) Let it make us see our littleness. " Who knoweth what 
is good for man in this life,' 1 etc. 

(b) Let it lead us to humility and trust. "Lean not unto 
thine own understanding,' 1 etc. "Lord, my heart is not 
haughty." etc. 

(c) Let it make us beware of presumption. " Go to, now, ye 
that say, M etc. 

(d) It should not run into despair. Why look for evil alone? 

(e) Let us give attention to present duties. " Xo thought," 
"careful for nothing, " etc. 

Illustrations. — The child is at school to study, not to worry 
over his future; the farmer is not to spend his time forecasting 



NEW YEAR. 119 



the seasons; the soldier is to obey, fight, suffer, and leave the 
plan of campaign to the general. 

(f) It should lead us to seek the one thing needful. u Every- 
where and in all things I am instructed to be full," etc. 

II. 

1. The first of the year is a good time to take account of 
stock. Let us do so. 

2. It is a good time for making new resolutions. Let us lift 
the standard and journey after higher ideals. Benefit of these. 

3. Let us not despond because we know so little. We see 
and hear all that is good for us. 

Illustration. — Eyes and ears in their normal state precisely 
fitted for our sphere. 

4. Suppose coming good-fortune were foreknown; or ill- 
fortune. " Why sayest thou, O Israel, my way is hid from the 
Lord?" Abraham knew not whither he was going, but he did 
know with whom he was going, and so may we. " He knoweth 
thy walking through this wilderness. He knows thy soul in 
adversity," etc. " When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as 
gold." 

5. I see not u how it shall go with me," but I do see: 

(1) "It shall be well with them that fear God," etc. 

(2) " Your shoes shall be as iron and brass " (temporal wants 
cared for). 

(3) "As your day is, so shall your strength be " (God's conso- 
lation and his comforting presence). 

(4) "God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tried," etc. 
(his special providence). 

6. Our ignorance of the future extends only to time. "We 
know that if our earthly house," etc. 

At the end stands the Father's house. 

"See the kind angels at the gates 

Inviting us to come; 
There Jesus, the Forerunner, waits 

To welcome travelers Home." 

7. "Forever with the Lord." 



120 NEW YEAR. 



III. 

1. Let us begin the year with solemn reflection. "When a 
few years come, I shall go the way whence I shall not return." 

2. Let us be honest with ourselves. "I do remember my 
faults," said Pharaoh's butler. 

Let us compare our progress and attainments with our privi- 
leges, not to despond, but to resolve. 

3. Let us purge our hearts and lives. * ' If I have done iniqui- 
ty, I will do so no more." Remember the words, " If thine eye 
offend thee," etc. 

4. Let us rededicate ourselves, our loved ones, our business, 
etc. We are never truly our own till we are His. 

5. Let us set up the family altar. 

6. Let us begin with fresh concern to be useful. " What wilt 
thou have me to do ?" The Bible is to be spread, missionaries sus- 
tained, the local church to be built up, my neighbors to be inter- 
ested, the poor to be helped, my own spiritual life enriched, etc., 
etc. 

7. Let us begin with more system and order in our private 
affairs and in the church. Ezra "did according to the custom, 
as the duty of every day required." 

8. Let us redeem the time that is left to us. " Gather up the 
fragments." 

9. Let us cultivate a cheerful, hopeful faith. " Saved by 
hope." The church pessimist. A despondent general. "My 
voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning 
will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up." 

"And now, my soul, another year 

Of thy short life is past ; 
I cannot long continue here, 

And this may prove my last. 

"Much of my dubious life is gone, 

Nor will return again; 
And swift my passing moments run, 

And few, perhaps, remain. 



ORGANIZATION OF A CHURCH. 121 

"Awake, my soul, with solemn care, 

Thy true condition learn ; 
What are thy hopes? how sure? how fair? 

And what thy great concern? 

"Now a new scene of time begins; 

Set out afresh for Heaven ; 
Seek pardon for thy former sins 

In Christ so freely given. 

"Devoutly yield thyself to God, 

And on his grace depend ; 
With zeal pursue the heavenly road — 

'Twill have a happy end." 



ORGANIZATION OF A CHURCH. 



An evangelist goes into a town or into a country neighbor- 
hood where the Disciples have no church organization and 
holds a protracted meeting. Some of the people hear, believe 
and are baptized. These persons desire to form a local con- 
gregation in order to preserve themselves in the faith and for 
the furtherance of a pure and simple Christianity. How shall 
they proceed? 

1. Let them come together, choose some representative man 
as chairman, and some one to act as secretary. 

2. Let the chairman, or some other person qualified to 
speak, set forth the advantage and necessity of having a church 
home; read a short but clear church covenant, and invite all to 
come forward and sign it. This may be prefaced by a concise 
statement of the principles and aims of the religious movement 
of which their congregation is to form a part. The following 
is suggested: 

We, the undersigned, have been baptized upon confession of 
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We desire to unite in a congre- 
gation because we believe in the wisdom of associated effort in 
things spiritual as well as in things temporal; because we earn- 



122 ORGANIZATION OF A CHURCH. 

estly desire to grow in grace and in knowledge of the word of 
God; and because we believe that by combining our means and 
talents we may become more influential witnesses for Christ in 
this community, securing thereby more consideration for our 
cause as well as a deeper Christian life for ourselves. We have 
already covenanted with God in Christ. In so doing we realize 
that we have taken God the Father to be our God, Jesus Christ 
to be our Savior, the Holy Spirit to be our cherished Guest and 
Sanctiner, the word of God to be our only rule of Faith and 
Practice, the salvation of all men to be an object of perpetual 
concern, and the people of God to be in an especial sense our 
people. In order to fulfill most effectively this solemn cove- 
nant we do now on this the day of , in the year of 

our Lord , unite to form a Church of Christ in , 

and we do hereby covenant to do all in our power to promote 
the growth, spirituality and general prosperity of this congre- 
gation. To this end we pledge ourselves by the aid of God's 
word and Spirit to lead lives of personal righteousness, to give 
freely as the Lord blesses our labors for the maintenance of his 
cause, to attend faithfully upon the services of the church, and 
to do good to all men, but especially to those who are of the 
household of faith. In testimony of our deliberateness and sin- 
cerity, we hereunto affix our names. 

3. The congregation is now in a condition to put itself in 
working order. To this end, after careful scrutiny of the 
standing and qualifications of the male membership, let an 
election be held and elders and dvacons chosen by the suffrages 
of the members. These should, in most cases, be tried long 
enough to prove their fitness for these positions, and then in a 
solemn manner set apart by the imposition of hands. An 
evangelist of experience, together with the elders of a neigh- 
boring congregation, should be engaged to ordain the officials- 
elect at the appointed time. 

It is scriptural and customary for those taking public part in 
the ceremony of ordination to prepare themselves therefor by 
fasting and prayer. The congregation as a whole should be 
advised to do the same. 



ORDINATION OF AN EVANGELIST. 123 

ORDINATION 

OF AN EVANGELIST. 

1. At the appointed hour a suitable hymn is announced. 

2. Appropriate selections from Scripture are read, such as 
1 Tim. 4: 12-16; Titus 2: 7, 8. [See also this Manual under the 
heading "Preachers and Preaching."] 

3. General prayer, with "special intent." 

4. Hymn. 

5.* Sermon expository of the evangelistic office. [Note to 
officiating evangelist: Kead carefully Milligan's "Scheme of 
Redemption," pp. 304-319. Also Munnell on " The Care of the 
Churches," 4th chapter of Parti., and pp. 177-250 of Part II. 
See article on Evangelists in this Manual.] 

6. At the close of his sermon the evangelist conducting the 
ordination service will state to the people the previous action 
of the churches in "looking out from among them" the person 
who is now to be ordained. He will give, as both interesting 
and pertinent, whatever reasons may exist for inferring or 
knowing the candidate's fitness for the office of evangelist. 
Extravagant laudation is always out of taste and usually un- 
merited. To the candidate, who is seated in full view of the 
congregation, the evangelist now addresses a series of ques- 
tions. The following are not out of place: 

(1) , is it your earnest desire to be solemnly set apart 

to the ministry of the Word? Answer: It is. 

(2) Will you habitually endeavor to do the will of God and 
to build up the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ? Answer: I 
will, God helping me. 

(3) Will you seek to live in such a way that men shall see in 
you a genuine love for souls, and will you earnestly cultivate 
meekness, patience, discretion, and all other graces of heart 
and mind necessary to commend the Gospel to those that are 



124 ORDINATION OF AN EVANGELIST 

without as well as to those who are already members of the 
Church of Christ? Answer: I will. 

4) "Will it be your constant aim so to exalt truth in a firm 
but affectionate manner as to promote the reunion of the 
Church of Christ? Answer: It will. 

5 1 Do you promise to give much time to the prayerful study 
of God's word, so as to show yourself approved unto God. a 
workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the 
word of truth? Answer: I do. 

Do you promise that you will reprove, rebuke, and ex- 
hort with all long-suffering and doctrine, and avoiding all f 
ish and hurtful lusts, strive to save yourself and those who hear 
you? Answer: I do. 

T. At this point the evangelist will say to the people, 
" Standing, let us pray.'' By previous understanding the can- 
didate will kneel during the ordination prayer. At its conclu- 
sion the evangelist, if unassisted in the ordination service, will 
lay both hands upon the head of the candidate and say: 

In conformity with the Word of God we confer upon you the 
office of a minister of the Gospel. To this holy work God has 
called you by the inclination of your own heart and by the 
choice of your brethren. Receive it therefore with gladness 
and humility, and may God. who searches the hearts of men 
and confers all needful wisdom and strength, bless, preserve 
and keep you. The Lord use you to comfort his people, con- 
fute the gain-savers, repair the breaches of Zion, and enlarge 
his kingdom on the earth. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, 
Amen. 

The people should be instructed to remain standing during 
the prayer and the imposition of hands, the candidate to re- 
main in a kneeling attitude. If several participate in the "im- 
position," let each £>lace his right hand upon the candidate's 
head. 

8. A short "charge " should now be delivered by some min- 
ister in attendance, after which the Lord's Supper, if at the 
morning service, should be administered and the benediction 
pronounced by the newly-ordained evangelist. [Of course this 









. ORDINATION OF AN ELDER OR BISHOP. 125 

entire service is intended to be advisory or suggestive. It can 
be modified to suit taste and occasion.] 

OF AN ELDER OR BISHOP. 

PROGRAMME. 

1. Suitable hymn. 2. Scriptures [see this Manual, article 
"Elders or Bishops"]. 3. Prayer. 4. Hymn. 5. Sermon 
on the elder's office. [Read Milligan's "Scheme of Redemp- 
tion, "pp. 319-338; also the fourth chapter of Munnell's "Care 
of the Churches;" also the article in this Manual on "Elders or 
Bishops," before preparing the sermon.] 

6. At the conclusion of the sermon, the elders-elect, who 
have been seated in front, will rise and face the congregation. 
The minister will say to the people: "Are these the men whom 
you recently elected to the spiritual oversight of this congrega- 
tion? " The congregation will rise and respond, "They are." 
The minister will turn to the candidates and ask: "Do you, 
? 1 an d , desire the work of an elder?" An- 
swer, each for himself, "I do." "Will you strive with God's 
help to be examples to the flock in the which the Holy Spirit 
hath made you overseers, and will you endeavor to learn and 
perform the duties of your sacred oflice to the best of your 
understanding and ability? Let each of you answer for himself 
as in the presence of God." Answer, " I will." 

7. Ordination prayer, the evangelists and those who are to 
assist in the ordination standing, the candidates kneeling and 
remaining in this attitude until both the prayer and the imposi- 
tion of hands are concluded. This prayer should be brief, not 
expository — being mainly an appeal for God's help to the men 
who are now to be set apart to responsible duties. At its con- 
clusion the hands of the evangelists and elders are laid upon the 
heads of the candidates, one by one, and over each is slowly 
and impressively said: "Upon you is hereby conferred the 
office of an elder of this congregation. May God give you wis- 
dom to rule well, to take the oversight not by constraint, but 



126 ORDINATION OF DEACONS 

willingly, and to ' feed the Church of God which He hath pur- 
chased with his own blood/ The Lord fill you with all spiritual 
benediction and grace, and make you a blessing in your day 
and generation, and the pattern of all Christian virtues to the 
sheep of his fold. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." 

8. The Lord's Supper, if the service is held in the morning r 
song and benediction. 

OF DEACONS. 

PROGRAMME. 

1. Hymn. 2. Appropriate scriptures [see this Manual, arti- 
cle "Deacons "]. 3. Prayer. 4. Hymn. 5. Sermon on the 
Diaconate. [Let the minister read carefully Milligan's "Scheme 
of Redemption," pp. 338-343; also chapter fifth of Munn ell's- 
"Care of the Churches." See article in this Manual on "Dea- 
cons," etc.] 

6. The sermon ended, the deacons-elect, who have been occu- 
pying a front seat, will arise and face the congregation. The 
evangelist, addressing the members, will ask: "Are these the 
men whom you recently elected to wait upon the secular con- 
cerns of this congregation, to be charged with all those minis- 
tries that relate to its business care and management?" An- 
swer, "They are." [The congregation should be instructed 
beforehand to arise before responding and remain standing in 
a reverent manner during the ordination prayer and ceremony 
of imposition of hands.] The minister should now inquire of 
the candidates in a body (calling their names in full, as "John 

Smith," "Thomas Rogers," et al): , , , , 

is it your desire to accept the work of a deacon in this congre- 
gation? " Each answers, "I do." "Do you promise in the 
presence of God and this congregation to inform yourselves in 
respect to the duties of your office, and to endeavor so to use it 
as to purchase for yourselves a good degree and great boldness 
in the faith which is in Christ Jesus? " [The deacons, each for 
himself, will respond, " I do."] 



OFFICIAL BOARD 12T 



7. Ordination prayer [see No. 7 on programme of ordination 
of elders]. At its conclusion, hands are laid upon each deacon's 
head, one by one, and the following or something of like nature 
said: "Upon you is hereby conferred the office of deacon of 
this congregation. The Lord help you to live in all gravity 
and sincerity before God and men, and give you wisdom and 
fidelity so to manage the affairs of this church that every one 
shall bear his just proportion, and that temporally as well as 
spiritually this congregation may flourish even as the vineyard 
of the Lord. The Lord endow you, brother, with sagacity, 
prudence and piety, and at last admit you as one who has betm 
faithful to his trust, into his Church Triumphant in heaven. 
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.' 7 

8. Lord's Supper, if at the morning service, hymn and bene- 
diction. 



OFFICIAL BOARD. 



The Official Board of the Church, consisting of elders, dea- 
cons and pastor, should meet once a month in large congrega- 
tions, and at certain stated times in even the smallest. Busi- 
ness should be conducted by regular order. The following is 
suggested: 1. Prayer. 2. Reading minutes of last meeting. 
3. Report of special committees. 4. Report of preacher. 5. Re- 
port of elders. 6. Report of deacons. 7. Report of the treas- 
urer (who should be a deacon) as to receipts and expenditures. 
8. Miscellaneous business. Under this head all requests for 
letters should be discussed, the wants of the Sunday-school and 
the prayer-meetings considered, etc. All applications for let- 
ters should be first considered by the board and read to the 
congregation afterward. The board should disapprove or rec- 
ommend the granting, and its clerk (who should also be the 



128 ORDER IN WORSHIP. 

clerk of the church) should state that decision clearly in read- 
ing the application to the congregation for final action. It is 
advisable to have committees of ladies to assist the pastor and 
officials in such duties as fall peculiarly within the province of 
women, such as preparing the Lord's table, etc. In many con- 
«. gregations there are committees " to visit the poor and sick; " 
on "new members and strangers;' 7 on "city missions, hos- 
pitals, and houses of refuge," etc. Committees on "finance," 
to assist in seeing new-comers or old members who have be- 
come careless of their pecuniary obligations to assist in the 
Lord's work and in securing subscriptions for the support of 
the church; on "erring members," to bring them back to the 
straight way, and other committees may with advantage be 
constituted of lady members, who will thus greatly assist the 
elders, deacons and pastor in the proper care of the church. 



ORDER IN WORSHIP. 



Every congregation should conduct its Lord's day worship in 
a regular order. The following is suggested: 

MORNING. 

1. Invocation. 

2. Hymn, of which one stanza may be read. 

3. Reading of Scripture Lesson. This can be done respon- 
sively. 

4. Hymn. 

5. Prayer. (Let a uniform position be urged.) 

6. Collection. 

7. Announcements. 

8. Sermon. 

9. Hymn. 

10. Benediction. This is to permit strangers and non-mem- 



ORDER IN WORSHIP. 129 

bers to retire if they prefer to do so. They are always invited 
to remain. 

11. Communion. 

12. Doxology. 

13. Benediction. 

EVENING. 

Same as morning — omitting 11, 12 and 13. 

The Invocation should be brief, the congregation rising and 
standing. The following is frequently used by the writer: 

Almighty God, unto whom the secrets of all hearts are 
known, and from whom nothing can possibly be hid, cleanse 
the thoughts of our hearts this morning by the inspiration of 
thy blessed Spirit, that we may more perfectly love thee, and 
more worthily magnify thy holy name in our thoughts, words 
and deeds. Help us to sit together in heavenly places at this 
hour, and to go from this house stronger in the Lord and in the 
power of his might. May the words of our mouths and the 
meditations of our hearts alike be acceptable in thy sight, O 
Lord, our strength and our Redeemer. We ask all through 
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

If a Responsive Service is employed the numbers of the 
Psalms should be announced on the blackboard, or given out 
with the number of the hymn immediately following the Invo- 
cation. The minister should read the first verse of each psalm, 
even though he has read the last verse of the preceding one. At 
least this is customary. I have used a responsive service for 
years and find it a popular and impressive feature of public 
worship. It should be read standing. 

The Announcements should precede the sermon and ought 
to be written and read. It saves time and prevents omission 
from forgetfulness. Insist strenuously upon every activity of 
the church preparing its own notice in writing and handing the 
same to the minister to be read at the proper time. 

Read the context of your text and preach not longer than 
forty-five minutes (except on special occasions), nor less than 
9 



130 PREACHERS AND PREACHING. 

thirty. Close with exhortation, and let the third hymn be in- 
vitatory in its spirit. 

If two benedictions are employed (see No. 10 and No. 13), let 
them be different in their wording. 

Every directory should contain a list of all the stated collect 
tions of the church, such as State Missions, the Foreign Chris- 
tian Missionary Society, Children's Day, Church Extension, 
Worn-out and Dependent Ministers, etc. But the people 
should be notified on the Sunday preceding at both evening 
and morning service. If the congregation has no directory, a 
printed list of the different collections should be pasted in 
every hymnal, and one given to every member with request to 
keep it securely for ready reference. 



PREACHERS AND PREACHING. 



But thou, O man of God, flee these things [foolish and hurt- 
ful lusts, love of money, etc.); and follow after righteousness, 
godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight 
of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, 
and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. — 
1 Tim. 6: 11, 12. 

Hold fast the form of sound words. 

Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, 
rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. 

But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work 
of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. — From 2 Tim. 
4th chapter. 

See John 21: 15-17; Luke 10: 1-20; Matt. 9: 35-38. 

If a man has in his heart the love of souls and an earnest de- 
sire to extend the kingdom of God on earth; if he has a respect- 



PREACHERS AND PREACHING. 131 

able degree of intelligence, some aptness to teach, and an earn- 
est wish to grow in both earthly and divine wisdom; if the 
qualities of diligence, meekness, prayerfnlness, patience and 
discretion are found in his life; if he believes himself to be a 
saved man and living in communion with God, and he should 
wish to preach, let him know that these qualities and charac- 
teristics Authenticate a Divine Call to the Ministry. Set 
him apart formally by the imposition of hands with prayer. 

A Short Sermon to Preachers. 

General 'Rules: 1. Be studious. 2. Be prayerful. 3. Be 
a house-goer, or flock-visitor. 

In Matter : 1. Be scriptural. 2. Be logical. 3. Be practical. 

In Manner : 1. Be sincere. 2. Be earnest. 3. Be natural. 

In delivering your sermons : 1. Begin on time. 2. Proceed 
without excuses or apologies. 3. Quit in time. 

In your conduct be always: 1. Pure. 2. Exemplary. 3. Con- 
sistent. 

Always and in everything be: 1. Punctual. 2. Kind. 3. Gen- 
erous. 

Be: 1. Always doing. 2. Doing all you can. 3. The best 
you can. Never forget a friend, always forgive an enemy, and 
honor God in all your words and ways. 

Remember that: 

1. Men and women come to church to be made better, not 
to be tasked with intellectual abstractions. They want no 
doubts on your part, and but little speculation and science. 
They want the living truth for living uses. 

2. The Word that is preached faithfully, closely, simply and 
lovingly will not return unto Him void. 

3. Scolding turns a household into a pandemonium, and a 
church into an inquisition, or something worse. 

4. Not to air your learning or to think of yourself, if possi- 
ble, but to hide behind the cross. 

5. Your real self will go out unconsciously to your hearers. 
Therefore resolve to be what you would seem to be. Your 



132 PREACHERS AXD PREACHING. 

steady living under the sweet pressure of genuine love for God 
and for your people will put life-force into your words. 

A small but comprehensive library. List of books a preacher 
should have: 

1. A good Bible, Oxford or Bagster, for your daily use. 

2. Get all the translations you can find. I would recommend 
with emphasis Noye's translation of the Xew Testament; Nor- 
ton's translation of the Gospels, with notes; Geo. Campbell's 
Four Gospels with Preliminary Dissertations, and MacKnight's 
translation of the Epistles, with commentary thereon. The last 
mentioned book is a marvel of learning and lucidity. It con- 
tains the original Greek text, a new translation, a paraphrase, 
and an exhaustive commentation. 

3. Have a copy of each of the great English dictionaries 
(Webster's and Worcester's). 

4. At least one good Latin-English dictionary; one Greek 
dictionary; and, if you know anything of the leading European 
continental languages, one German (Oehschlager will do) and 
one French dictionary. 

5. If able to afford a first-class encyclopedia, get the Britan- 
nica or the American. But have one, if forced for awhile to 
content yourself with Chamber's or the People's. 

6. The Schaff-Herzog Cyclopedia of Religious Knowledge is 
invaluable. 

7. You ought to have one good history of the world, and one 
history of every leading nation. Green's History of the English 
People and McMaster's History of the United States are excel- 
lent books. 

8. You will need a Bible Dictionary, Lange's is costly. 
There is a very good abridgement of Smith's which is cheap and 
not unhandy. 

9. Home's " Introduction to the Study of the Scriptures " is 
a masterful work. It will not be superseded for a century to 
come. It will cost ten or twelve dollars. Nichol's Aids to the 
Study of the Scriptures is an effort to present the pith and mar- 
row of this great work in a smaller and cheaper form. 



PRE A CHERS A ND PRE A CHING. 133 

10. You must have one commentary on the whole Bible. 
A new edition of Matthew Henry's has just been issued by Funk 
& Wagnalls of New York. Parker's People's Bible is a treasure- 
house. It will be finished in 25 volumes, each complete in itself. 
Fifteen have appeared up to this date (May, 1889). 

11. A good Concordance is indispensable. Procure Young's 
Analytical Concordance, or Cruden's. 

12. The following works on general theology are worthy of a 
place in every library: " Knapp's Theology," "Pearson on the 
Apostles' Creed," "Browne on the Thirty-nine Articles." I 
have read the last mentioned work more than once with a 
growing sense of its value. 

13. Get Canon Farrar's "Life of Jesus," and buy every 
standard work on the life of our Lord as fast as you are able. 

14. " The Life and Epistles of St. Paul," by Conybeare and 
Howson; also Canon Farrar's work on St. Paul and his epistles. 

15. Get all the bound volumes of the Homiletic Review you 
can. 

16. You will need something on the pastoral olfice. Tyng, 
Beecher, John Hall, Phillips Brooks and others have written 
in an entertaining and instructive way on the preacher and his 
office. Seethe " Yale College " Series. Any intelligent book- 
seller will give you information concerning publisher and prices 
of this series. 

17. You will, of course, buy and study the standard books of 
your own church. McGarvey, Everest, B. W. Johnson, Milligan, 
Errett, Lamar, Richardson and others have created a Christian 
Church literature. Every preacher in this Reformatory Move- 
ment should own a copy of the "Christian Baptist," the "Chris- 
tian System," the "Campbell-Rice Debate," and Richardson's 
"Memoirs of Alexander Campbell." 

18. A preacher needs one good, vigorous, independent daily 
newspaper. This he should read, advertisements and all. He 
needs to know what is going on in the world. He should take, 
read, pay for, and spread the representative papers of his church. 
He ought to take the Forum, the North American Review and 



134 PREACHERS AND PREACHING. 

the Popular Science Monthly. These will keep him abreast of 
the freshest thought, and when bound will materially add to 
the appearance and efficiency of his library. 

19. As to evidential or apologetic books, the preacher will 
procure them, one by one, as they are needed, selecting books 
that will stimulate thought and promote a deeper spirituality. 

Get Joseph Cook's books, all of them; also Geikie's "Hours 
with the Bible," and as many of the Bampton Lectures as you 
can afford to purchase. 

A Charge to a Pastor. 

1. Be pious. Ice never kindled a fire. Preach to yourself 
first, then to others. 

2. Be a man of prayer. You are liable to be neglectful of 
private prayer because you have so much public praying to do. 
You neglect it at your peril. 

3. You must study. You cannot in this day of wide reading 
and information hold an audience of thoughtful men and women 
unless you study the best authors. They soon tire of drivel and 
trite commonplaces, and go where they are better fed. Much 
learning will not make you mad, but much ignorance on your 
part will certainly make your auditors mad. Read books that 
putiiron into your blood. Bead for thoughts that put you on 
tiptoe. 

4. Put Christ into your sermons, a living, loving Christ; an 
atoning Christ, a risen Christ, an ascended Christ, an interced- 
ing Christ, a Christ teaching by his Spirit, a Christ revealing 
himself in and to all who keep his sayings. Preach Christ. 

5. Be circumspect, reproachless and pure in the life you live 
— in the outer life and in the inner life. Xo mental alertness 
or robustness can atone for impurity. A preacher who would 
be successful in winning souls cannot afford to lead a double 
life. 

6. Be natural, cheerful, affable, but not a professional grin- 
ner and smirker. To be "courteous," one need not himself 



PREACHERS AND PREACHING. 135 

become " pitiful." Respect your own personality, and have 
one. Form and bravely hold your own opinions on political 
and sociological questions, but do not offensively or unnecessa- 
rily obtrude them. You are not to agree with every man because 
you are a preacher. 

7. Beware of pride — intellectual, moral, spiritual. Beware 
of self-indulgence. Go in and out diligently before your people. 
Cultivate sympathy. See their home life, and use every oppor- 
tunity to get at the true man or woman. 

Special Dangers to which a Preacher is Subjected. 

1. There is the danger of uncontroverted deliverance. No 
one rises in the pew to contradict him or to show up his illog- 
icalness or shallowness. Hence pride, impatience of contradic- 
tion, or difference even. 

2. There is danger of conceit and vanity from unusual flat- 
tery and petting. Few minds are proof against the soft seduc- 
tions of flattery. If a preacher is really able and eloquent the 
danger is greater. 

3. As mountaineers are not awed by sky-kissing peaks and 
frightful canyons, and as sailors become indifferent to the 
wonders and dangers of the great Deep, so poor man becomes 
so familiar with holy things that they cease to affect him. That 
which alone will preserve a minister from the danger of care- 
lessness, irreverence, callousness, in his holy ministrations is 
much pious meditation with prayer. Who without a shock can 
see a minister on his way to preach a funeral or administer the 
rite of baptism or the Lord's Supper, or to preach the word to 
perishing souls, and yet unconcerned, jocose, flippant in speech 
and manner? There is the danger, then, of unholy familiarity 
with holy things. 

4. There is the danger of affectation, of simulated fervor, of 
spiritual hypnotism, make-believe raptures, ecstatic rhapsodies, 
exaggerated statements. Even bad men have known how to 
work themselves into a temporary transfiguration, to kindle a 
crackling bonfire of gush. Be sober, preach the truth (and 



136 PREACHERS AXD PREACHING 

back that with a regenerate life), and you will be able to say, 
1 4 Here, Lord, am I, and the children whom thou hast given me." 

5. There is the danger of brag and bluster. All men brag, 
or nearly all. The soldier shoulders his crutch and shows how 
fields were won, and won largely by himself ; the doctor tells of 
his great •' cases," cases cured after despairful abandonment 
by his professional brethren; the lawyer tells of his great law- 
suits successfully prosecuted on slender threads of evidence, or 
clues discovered by his vigilant eye; the i:>olitician tells of wily 
scheming and unsuspected combinations which downed his op- 
ponent. So you will be tempted to air your successes even when 
you say, ''To God be all the glory." 

6. You will be tempted to loss of faith in your fellows. You 
will see so much littleness and meanness in pillars of the church, 
in preachers, and in yourself, that you will be tempted to cynic- 
ism. Avoid that. Preachers should be sunny-faced and sunny- 
hearted. You believe in the Holy Ghost. It is well. He can 
renew the worst heart. 

7. Then there is the danger which comes from perfunctori- 
ness. You will have to preach when not "in the spirit on the 
Lord's day/' to pray when devotion languishes, to comfort 
others when sadly needing it yourself, to pluck up a doubt when 
shaken by a tornado yourself. Deception, even the heartless 
walking of a role, is demoralizing. The remedy for the bleak- 
ness and blankn ess of lifeless, loveless, spiritless service — 
service that is professional and perfunctory and rendered be- 
cause you must — is: Be so real, honest, fair, sincere, Christlike 
all the time, so near your Master in spirit, that perfunctoriness 
can only come as the result of a physical, not a moral or spirit- 
ual state. For this, conscience will not avenge herself. 

8. There is danger of lowering the standard of righteousness 
to please the world or rich and influential members. Preachers 
who do this lack both sense and godliness. The world will use 
you and despise you. Be true to your soul and to the souls of 
men and to God, and your righteousness will shine forth as the 
sun. 



PEE A CHEES AND PEE A CIIINQ. 137 

9. There is danger from wide reading of speculative philoso- 
phy and destructive criticism, that you may cherish a secret and 
subtle form of unbelief. More religion is the remedy. There are 
difficulties and mysteries which are inexplicable, but the pure in 
heart see God, and to those whose conversation is in heaven, 
there is a proof transcending the syllogisms of logic or the 
evidences of bodily sense. Look to God, and " in his light you 
shall see light." 

An Earnest Minister. 

Could I but preach as if I saw the woe 
Which, like a sea, spreadjs over all below, 
As if I heard earth's weeping millions cry, 
"Give us the light before we faint and die," 
With eloquence of words and tears I then 
Would rouse the church to pity dying men. 

Oh, could I preach as if my heart was fired 
By gazing on the cross where Christ expired — 
As if I felt the mighty love that he, 
By dying pangs, proved his own love to be — 
How soon would guilty, stubborn souls embrace 
The joyful tidings of redeeming grace ! 

Oh, could I preach as Christ would have me do, 
With heaven and hell immediately in view— 
With heart inflamed with pure, seraphic love, 
Like those that wait and minister above — 
What victories, then, would from my labor spring 
To honor Christ, my blessed Lord and King I 

Oh, could I preach as if I saw the day- 
Dark day of doom, of sorrow and dismay; 
When weeping many shall in tears retire, 
And burning justice wrap the world in fire — 
How would the thoughtless and the giddy hear, 
And apathy give way to anxious fear ! 

Oh, could I preach as I will wish at last, 

When days, and months, and rolling years are past, 

And just before me, in deep mystery, lies 

The world, unseen as yet by human eyes, 

How would I agonize in love to bring 

Mankind in sweet submission to their King. 



138 



PREACHERS AND PREACHING. 



What a Sermon Should Be. 

It should be brief; if lengthy, it will steep 
Our hearts in apathy, our eyes in sleep ; 
The dull will yawn, the chapel lounger doze, 
Attention flag, and memory's portals close. 

It should be warm, a living altar coal, 
To melt the icy heart and charm the soul; 
A sapless, dull harangue, however read, 
Will never charm the soul, nor raise the dead. 

It should be simple, practical and clear; 
No fine-spun theory to please the ear; 
No curious lay to tickle lettered pride, 
And leave the poor and plain unedified. 

It should be tender and affectionate, 
As his warm theme who wept Jerusalem's fate; 
The fiery law with words of love allayed 
Will sweetly warm, and awfully persuade. 

It should be manly, just and rational, 
Wisely conceived and well-expressed withal; 
Not stuffed with silly notions, apt to stain 
The "sacred desk," and show a muddy brain. 

It should possess a well-adapted grace, 

To situation, audience, time and place; 

A sermon formed for scholars, statesmen, lords, 

With those who are not learned but ill accords. 



It should with evangelic beauties bloom, 
Like Paul's at Corinth, Athens, or at Rome; 
Let some an Epictetus or a Sterne esteem; 
A bleeding Jesus is the Gospel's theme. 

It should be mixed with many an ardent prayer. 
To reach the heart, and fix and fasten there; 
When God and man are mutually addressed, 
God grants a blessing, man is truly blest. 

It should be well applied at last, 

To make the moral nail securely fast; 

"Thou art the man," and "thou" alone wilt make 

A Felix tremble and a David quake. 



PREACHERS AND PREACHING. 139 

List of Living Issues for Pulpit Treatment. 

1. Skepticism, an Infection; 2. Increase of Crime; 3. Cruelty 
to Animals; 4. Divorce, and Divorce Legislation; 5. The Hered- 
ity of Intemperance and other Vices; 6. Our Standing Army 
of Ignorance; 7. Guilt and Danger of Reading Impure Works; 
8. The Playhouse and its Perils; 9. Too Much Novel; 10. The 
Just and the Unjust Demands of Labor; 11. Who is a Laboring 
man? 12. The Rising Cloud in our Political Sky (the liquor in- 
terest in politics); 13. Bitterness in Partisan Warfare; 14. Will 
theFuture see Poverty Abolished? 15. " Swear Not;" 16. "Thou 
Shalt not Steal;" 17. "Lie Not;" 18. "Keep Thyself Pure;" 
19. SirGallahad; 20. The Certainty, not the Dreadfulness, of 
Punishment the Restraining Element; 21. The Little Foxes 
(habits); 22. Be Pitiful, be Courteous. 23. Social Wreckage; 
24. Youth and Manhood; 25. Lighthouses (Bible; church; good 
men and women; temperance societies; organizations for moral, 
benevolent and literary purposes; an unshackled press having 
for its aim to advance the cause of truth, its country, and God, 
etc., etc.); 26. Wasted Talents; 27. "Home, Sweet Home;" 
its Supports and Dangers; 28. "The Good Old Times!"— A 
Backward Look; 29. A Forward Look; 30. Thrift; 31. Why 
Pay Rent? a Plea for Building and Loan Associations; 32. The 
Ideal Husband; 33. The Ideal Wife; 34. The Ideal Father; 
35. The Ideal Mother; 36. Parent and Child; 37. The Servant 
Girl; 38. Duty to Employes; 39. The Sunday Paper; 40. Sunday 
and Sabbath; 41. Sunday Legislation; 42. Boodle in Politics; 
43. Is the World Growing Better? 44. Theories of Education; 
45. Roman Catholicism in our Public Schools; 46. Leakages in 
the State; 47. Leakages in the Church; 48. Sins against Child- 
hood; 49. Is the Church a Club? 50. Ecclesiastical Amusements; 
51. The Claims of the Body; 52. What Man Can Do; 53. What 
Man Cannot Do; 54. What we Are; 55. What we May Be; 
56. Tobacco; 57. Woman; her Place and Work in Life; 58. Wo- 
man's Wages; 59. Men who have Left their Mark; 60. Court- 
ship and Marriage; 61. The Pew and the Pulpit; 62. Purpose 
and Aim in Life; 63. The Building of Character; 64. Reputation 



140 PREACHERS AND PREACHING. 

and Character; 65. Ideal Congregation; 66. The Fly in the 
Apothecary's Ointment; 67. Our Duty as Citizens; etc., etc. 
[A minister's growing experience will enable him to enlarge his 
reportoire of Living Issues indefinitely. These, and many others 
suggested by local needs, have been the subjects of discourses 
from my own pulpit.] 

List of Topics for the Weekly Prayer-Meetings. 

The minister is sometimes puzzled to find a satisfactory theme 
for the social religious meeting. The prime idea in this should 
be Christian culture. Announce the theme on the Lord's day 
preceding, and urge the members to thoughtful examination. 

An Exemplary Prayer, Ps. 119: 37, 38; Faith through Trials, 
Job 13: 15; Man's Preciousness in God's Sight, Acts 28: 5; The 
Mother Element in God, Isa. 66: 13; Whole-heartedness, Ps. 
111:1; Earnestness in Religion, Matt. 11:12; Peter's Fall and 
Eepentance, Matt. 26: 69-75; Burdens Cast upon the Lord, Ps. 
55: 22; The Blessedness of Believers, Rom. 8: 28, 37-39; Sacrifice 
and Recompense, Mark 10: 28-30; The Lord's Prayer; Great and 
Precious Promises, 2 Pet. 1: 4; Christian Love, Rom. 13: 10 and 
1 Cor. 13: 1-13; Lessons from Daniel's Life, Dan. 6:10, etc.; 
What it is to Love Christ; What it is to Suffer with Christ, in 
the Meaning of the Scriptures, 2 Tim. 2: 12 and Rom. 8: 12; 
What it is to be Crucified to the World, Gal. 6: 14; Christian 
Diligence, 2 Thess. 3: 1-18; The Fruit of the Spirit, Gal. 5: 22, 23; 
The Obligations of Christian Fellowship, Gal. 6:2; The Test of 
True Religion, Matt. 7: 18-20; Answers to Prayer, Ps. 34: 6, 7; 
Man's Higher Life, Matt. 4: 4; The Christian's Goal, Rom. 8: 18-24; 
Living to God in Small Things, Luke 16: 10; God our Home, 
Deut. 33: 27; Various Exhortations, Phil. 4: 4-9; Victory Certain, 
Isa. 52:10; The Beatitudes, Matt. 5; The 12th chapter of Ro- 
mans; The 12th chapter of Hebrews; The 23d Psalm; Progress- 
ive Character of Piety, Prov. 4: 18; Christians, Children of 
Light, 1 Thess. 5: 5; Worldly Conformity; Christ our Example, 
Heb. 7: 26 and 1 John 2: 6; Special Providence, Ps. 37: 23; The 
Preciousness of Prayer, Rev. 8:4; The Secret of Spiritual 



PRAYER AND PRAYER-MEETINGS. 141 

Power, Matt. 17:21; The Peace of God, Col. 3:15; Workers 
with Him, 2 Cor. 6:1; Patience, Luke 21:19; Holding Fast, 
Matt. 4: 1; The Earnest .Worker, John 9: 4; What have I to 
Thank God for? 1 Cor. 3: 21-23 and 2 Cor. 9-15; What Keeps the 
Christian, 1 Cor. 10: 13 and 2 Cor. 12: 9, 10; Brotherhood, Matt. 
18: 1-35; Ruling the Spirit, Prov. 16:32; The Power of Good 
Example, 1 Chron. 29: 1-9; The Ground of Comfort, 1 Thess. 
4: 13-18; The Utility of Prayer, Luke 18: 1 and Job 21: 15; The 
Backslider Encouraged to Return, Hos. 14: 1-3 and 4:8; Faults 
in Prayer, James 4: 3; How to Attain Heaven, Matt. 19: 16-30; 
Taking Christ at his Word, Luke 5: 1-11; Faithful unto Death, 
Heb. 3: 1-6 and Rev. 2: 10; How may I Know I am a Christian? 

1 John 3: 14-24; Reasons for Praising God, Ps. 103: 1-14; Nothing 
but Leaves, Mark 11: 13, 14 and Luke 13: 6-9; Making the Most 
of Life, Eccl. 12:13, 14, and Matt. 6:33; Self-examination, 

2 Cor. 13: 15; Faithfulness in Little Things, Luke 19: 17. 

The Sunday-school lessons, with their contexts and parallel 
passages, often afford profitable prayer-meeting lessons. An 
epistle may with profit be studied chapter by chapter. 



PRAYER AND PRAYER-MEETINGS. 



1. Prayer Enjoined: Luke 18: 1-14 [see Trench and Wm. 
M. Taylor in loco]; Matt. 6: 5-15; 7: 7-12; John 16: 23, 24; Matt. 
18: 19, 20. 

2. Prayer Encouraged: Deut. 4: 29-31 ; 2 Chron. 7: 13, 14; 
Psa. 50:15; Isa. 65:24; Luke 11:9-13; 1 John 5:14, 15; Heb. 
6:16. 

3. Prayer Requested: Rom. 15: 30-32; Eph. 6: 18-20; Col. 
4: 2-4; Heb. 13: 18-21; 2 Thess. 3: 1, 2; 2 Cor. 1: 11; 1 Thess. 5: 25. 

4. Prayer Offered: Acts 20: 32; Phil. 1: 2-11; Col. 1: 9-14; 
1 Thess. 3: 9-13; 2 Thess. 1: 11, 12. 



142 PR A YER A ND PR A YER- MEE TINGS. 

A little work by James Freeman Clarke on Prayer should be 
in every preacher's library. 

It is a good and proper thing for the minister to conclude the 
leading prayer at morning and evening service with the words: 
" We ask all these petitions in the name of Him who teaches 
his disciples to pray, saying, [here repeat in concert the Lord's 
Prayer.] The kingdom of God in one sense has come; that is, 
the church exists, but in another sense the kingdom of God has 
not come, not in its complete ascendency in every heart, nor in 
its thorough diffusion throughout the earth. The prayer will 
always be proper, whatever cranks may say, until He come. 

Some Reasons why Church Members should Always 
Attend the Prayer-Meeting. 

1. All the reasons why one should attend the preaching of 
the word apply here. 

2. The example of the Apostles: Acts 1: 13, 14; Acts 2: 1. 

3. The example of the early Christians: Acts 2:42; Acts 
12: 5. 

4. Shall the practice of the Jews shame Christians? See 
Acts 16: 13; Ps. 116: 18, 19; Joel 2: 15-18. 

5. United prayer was a duty under both the Old and the 
New Testaments: Joel 1: 14; Luke 1: 10. 

6. We need and ask help in temporal things. Why not in 
spiritual things? Ps. 34: 3. 

7. There are special promises to united prayer: Matt. 18: 19, 
20. 

8. Is it not, in some way, dearer to God than private? See 
Ps. 87: 2. 

9. We are social beings; an isolated Christian life is not 
adapted to the requirements of our nature: Ps. 142: 4. 

10. We should use all the means in our power to become 
meet for heaven: Luke 13: 24. 

11. One stick will not burn alone. Put the scattered fuel 
together if you want a blaze. The more fuel, the hotter the 
fire: Prov. 27: 17. 



PRAYER AND PRAYER-MEETINGS. 143 

Injunctions to Members. 

1 Thess. 5: 1?. 

1. Be there regularly and punctually, " not forsaking the 
assembling of yourselves together." 

2. Endeavor to draw others by example, invitation and 
solicitation. " Come thou with us, and we will do thee good." 

3. Ask God's blessing on the meeting, and get as far front as 
possible. 

4. Remember your obligation to be genial and courteous; 
greet one another, and strangers, too, and see that the latter 
have hymn-books. 

5. Leave the fault-finding and critical spirit outside the 
door, and "be kindly affectionate one to another." 

6. Do not expressly dissent from one who has spoken. A 
controversial prayer-meeting is a witches' cauldron, the devil's 
stew-pot. 

7. Assist actively, enthusiastically, but briefly in the exer- 
cises of the hour. Resolve yourself into a committee of one to 
prevent a drag. Don't talk too long, nor too often. Don't 
pray "from generations to revolutions." Learn a new prayer 
when the old is thread-bare. (1) Testify to the love of Christ 
for you, and yours for him; (2) exhort; (3) recite a passage or 
two from the Scriptures (always from memory); (4) repeat a 
sweet hymn rnemoriter; (5) or deliver a favorite poem, not too 
long, that has cheered or comforted you; (6) give or ask the 
meaning of some passage that has been borne in upon your 
mind. " Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wis- 
dom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns 
and spiritual songs." 

8. If timid, compose and memorize a short prayer, or have 
your pastor write one for you. This will give you confidence. 
Branch out, and if you grow confused, fall back on this to pre- 
vent utter failure. But (1) do not be long-winded; (2) pray to 
the subject of the meeting; (3) and, if there be no regular sub- 
ject, have an eye to the song last sung, or the remarks last 
made. 



144 PR A YER A ND PR A YER-ME E TINGS. 

9. If you make the opening prayer, let it be chiefly an invo- 
cation, asking the Savior's special presence and aid, "for with- 
out Me ye can do nothing," but don't try to tell the Lord all 
you know at once. You are not on trial, not " candidating" 
for people to find out your praying abilities. 

10. Don't vent any personal spite in prayers or remarks. 

11. Don't speak merely to kill time. 

12. If you need the prayers of the faithful, say so, but don't 
deluge a meeting with complaints or doubts, or with your lack of 
faith. Such things are contagious, malignantly so. "Who is 
fearful, or faint-hearted, let him return." 

13. On leaving, endeavor to maintain a devout frame of 
mind. "Continue in prayer," and, moreover, use all the 
means in your power to secure the blessing for which you have 
prayed, for "faith without works is dead." Pray as though all 
depended upon God, and work as though all depended on your- 
self. 

14. Don't keep silent for fear of mispronouncing words or 
making mistakes in grammar. Truth expressed in frightful 
grammar has often saved souls. 

15. Don't wait to be the last one; if you do, somebody will 
say what you wanted to, and possibly not half so well. 

16. Let your business and to-morrow's engagements go. 
"My house shall be called a house of prayer." 

17. Take home humbly that part of the meeting which inad- 
vertently, but center-shottedly hit, you hardest, and think over 
it. 

18. Be pleasant in face and manner, yet sober and reverent. 

19. Talk the prayer-meetings up. 

It is difficult to maintain the interest of a prayer-meeting 
longer than an hour or an hour and a quarter at farthest. It 
will die if monopolized by a few prosy, interminable talkers. 
Let it not become a Bible-class, either, except in an incidental 
way. If you want a Bible-class, have one, but let not the 
weekly service of song, thanksgiving, exhortation and suppli- 
cation be converted into one. This should enure to a sacred 



REMARKS ON SPECIAL OCCASIONS. 145 

inflammation of the soul. It is not so much for instruction as 
for encouragement and vitalization. In some places I have 
found it best that the preacher in charge should lead; in others, 
I have appointed new leaders every week, and have found that 
the plan worked well. Have a programme in the hand of the 
leader, varied only by "voluntary services." No time should 
be wasted looking for hymns. Everything should be in readi- 
ness beforehand. It is well to announce the subject, and the 
chapter from which it is taken, the Sunday before, and exhort 
to a diligent and prayerful preparation. The people will come 
full and expectant of great things. 



REMARKS ON SPECIAL OCCASIONS. 



At the Laying of the Corner-Stone of a Church. 

Dear Friends: — We are about to place in position the corner- 
stone of our future spiritual homestead. It is a labor which 
symbolizes the faith and hope of the human heart; which gives 
a moment's solemn emphasis to the most precious qualities of 
religion, because it is an act which illustrates the soul's deep 
trust in the unseen Force to which we reverently give the name 
of God. At present this temple has no existence, save in the 
mind of the master-builder and the fervid hearts who long to 
enter into its courts with thanksgiving. The rude, shapeless 
materials, from which the future grace and strength must 
spring, lie all about us in disorder, and yet we know that the 
trained brain that planned and the skillful hands that will 
build this church are able to bring order out of chaos and 
beauty out of confusion. May it be a perpetual lesson, teach- 
ing us that from all the shames and confusions and moral 
chaos of the world the Divine Architect is slowly building so- 
ciety into the kingdom of heaven. 
(10) 



146 REMARKS ON SPECIAL OCCASIONS. 

We shall watch this church grow, with something akin to the 
joy and satisfaction with which we see our children develop in 
strength and character. May it be to us, indeed, the "House 
of God." May its spire point with " unmoving finger" to the 
road our souls shall be always glad to take. May no mean am- 
bition ever cross this threshold. May this doorway be wide 
enough to welcome every honest soul who loves the truth of 
God, and too narrow to admit the burden of one corroding 
care, one selfish thought, one unworthy feeling. 

We intend that this unborn temple shall be a Christian 
Church, and let us in this solemn hour join together in the sa- 
cred vow that the Christianity for which it stands shall mean 
at least freedom of mind, righteousness of life, and an honest 
toleration for other men's convictions. 

Believing, as we do, that no priestly finger could charm this 
temple into sacredness, let us resolve to truly consecrate this 
place with the perpetual sacrament of holy living. And then 
when we see our little ones coming hither to be taught in the 
way of the Lord, or in later years their glad feet keeping time 
to the music of the wedding march, or if we be called with 
heavy hearts to follow that casket which always holds our dear- 
est earthly treasure, — we can feel indeed that the spot whereon 
we stand is "holy ground." 

A Prohibition Speech in Outline. 

I. We should support prohibition on principles of political 
economy. 

1. Intemperance ruins health. This is never questioned by a 
sane man. 

2. What destroys health destroys wealth. Every able-bodied 
man is, or may be, a producer. If his health is impaired, he 
becomes a non-producer to the extent of his injury. 

3. Whatever destroys wealth injures the commonwealth, or 
State. Whatever injures the State, the State, in self-defense, 
has a right to prohibit. 



REMARKS ON SPECIAL OCCASIONS. 147 

II. We should advocate prohibition on principles of mo- 
rality. 

1. Intemperance injures character. Do you need proof? 
Look at the wrecked lives of men and women all around you. 
See how they learned to lie, steal and murder by becoming 
drunkards. 

2. Whatever injures character destroys the citizen and 
makes his exercise of the rights of citizenship dangerous to the 
State. See the thousands who sell their manhood for whiskey. 
They vote for any measure, however corrupt, at the bidding of 
saloonists. 

3. Whatever injures citizenship destroys the integrity of the 
State, and is a menace against its life. Whatever impairs the 
integrity of the State by debauching its constituency, the State 
has the right to prohibit as a means of self-preservation. 

III. We are for prohibition on principles of Law. 

1. Intemperance enslaves the drinker, corrupts the ballot- 
box, debases the judge, and bribes the jury. 

2. What corrupts the courts of the State, threatens the in- 
stitutions of liberty, and whatever imperils liberty, is an enemy 
of mankind, and should be restrained by Law. 

3. That which defies Law, and threatens the destruction of 
Law, Law should crush. 

Another. 

1. If the fountain of law is in the people — if the government 
is "o/the people, for the people, and by the people," they must 
have the right to prohibit. They have the right and power to 
say what are personal rights. 

2. The undoubted right to regulate may involve the right to 
prohibit. So says a supreme court judge of the United States. 

3. In the light of civil law and sound statesmanship prohi- 
bition is legitimate. To protect health our legislatures quaran- 
tine vessels and passengers, confine persons with infectious dis- 
eases at home, and isolate cases of small-pox, diphtheria lep- 
rosy and scarlet-fever. Can the liquor-traffic claim exemption 
from the power and province of similar laws? 



148 REMARKS OX SPECIAL OCCASIONS. 

A Talk for Memorial Day. 

1. The antiquity of the custom of decorating graves with 
wreaths and remindful flags. 

2. In making the observance a fixed national festival, we 
have exalted it to such uses of gratitude and patriotism as in- 
vest it with a new and distinct meaning. 

3. It is no longer a mere personal service, but a solemn ex- 
pression oi popular reverence and affection. 

4. We honor not the dead alone, but ourselves as well. It 
is a renewal of our own devotion to the cause for which they 
perished. 

5. These men have made us richer. They gave to manliness 
an increased dignity and to loyalty an added force and 
grandeur. 

6. They not only vindicated the right of the nation to be 
and to endure, but they teach us from their lowly mounds that 
human life voluntarily yielded up in a good cause is not a 
calamity, but a triumph and a consecration. They have for- 
ever made it easier for men to do right and to choose wisely in 
supreme moments. 

7. They are not dead. Their souls are marching on. 

"On fame's eternal camping-grounds, 
Their silent tents are spread." 

They saved their lives by making the noblest use of them when 
the time of stress came. 

8. They builded wiser than they knew. They sought not 
fame, but fame has come to them. They saw their duty, and 
went straightforward in the performance of it. This was all, 
and yet that was everything. What a lesson for us who have 
entered upon the enjoyment of their labors ! 

9. Had they planned their services with an eye to selfish 
glory they might have failed. Forgetfulness of self, the only 
sure way to compel remembrance. " If I be lifted up," etc. 

10. The story tells itself. Oratory cannot compass it, nor 
poetry interpret it. The rusted arms, the tattered flags, the 



REMARKS OX SPECIAL OCCASIONS. 149 

ranks yearly growing thinner and more pathetic — these are 
eloquent beyond speech. 

11. Let us not waste or forfeit, trivialize or expose to 
danger what they died to secure. Let us swear to transmit un- 
harmed the sacred legacy bequeathed in flame and blood. Let 
us learn the lesson of duty, of loyalty, and of high, unwavering 
faith. 

Masonic Funeral. An Address at. 

Death is no stranger to any of us, and yet we shudder at the 
bare thought of it. When the icy hand of the grizzly Terror 
touches any living thing related by ties of blood or fraternity to 
our immediate being, we mourn the most because he has 
crossed our path. It is humane to sympathize in the sorrows 
of our neighbors, but we know no sorrow like unto that which 
swoops down upon us when the Grim Messenger enters our 
own domicile. The sublime lessons upon this solemn subject, 
taught to Master Masons in their hours of labor at the lodge, 
can never be forgotten, and if heeded, as they should be, a 
most salutary and lasting effect must be secured. Free and 
Accepted Masons are led to regard death as being but an in- 
strument or agent, moving only at the command of our Creator, 
and to serve the purpose of his Divine will. Masonically speak- 
ing, death is apprehended as a friend, not as a demon, and he 
never appears to any of us who have caught the spiritual sig- 
nificance of this ancient order but that he brings glad tidings of 
a better, holier life awaiting our acceptance. That this rich 
treasure may be secured for its votaries, Masonry constantly 
and consistently labors. It knows no hours of rest, and under 
the inspirations received from the All-seeing Eye its works are 
accomplished without strife or turmoil. Holy Peace reigns 
within its charmed circle, and Fortitude with Mercy and Jus- 
tice guard its outer sanctuary. The iron gavel of the destroyer 
is felt at most unexpected moments in apparent health and on 
the bed of anguish, at the fountain of pleasure and in the very 
fortress of supposed security. Nothing can blind the sight or 



150 RECITATIONS FOR FUNERALS. 

stay the touch of this visitor, plead with him as we may. 
Masonry, in its mission for the improvement of the human 
race, has accomplished grand results in teaching men how to 
live and how to die, leaving a good name for the admiration of 
surviving loved ones and taking with them the fond expecta- 
tion of an immortal life beyond the grave. In this spirit Ma- 
sonry bids us bow to the will of the Supreme Being, and in 
obedience to that will we separate ourselves from treasures that 
in the past have been very precious to our heart. This is Ma- 
sonry in its purity, and the Great Grand Master thereof does 
all things wisely and well. 



RECITATIONS FOR FUNERALS. 



How We Learn. 

Great truths are dearly bought. The common truth, 
Such as men give and take from day to day, 

Comes in the common walk of easy life, 
Blown by the careless wind across our way. 

Bought in the market, at the current price, 
Bred of the smile, the jest, perchance the bowl; 

It tells no tales of daring or of worth, 
Nor pierces even the surface of a soul. 

Great truths are greatly won. Not found by chance, 
Nor wafted on the breath of summer dreams; 

But grasped in the great struggle of the soul, 
Hard-buffeting with adverse wind and stream. 

Not in the general mart, 'mid corn and wine ; 

Not in the merchandise of gold and gems; 
Not in the world's gay hall of midnight mirth; 

Not mid the blaze of regal diadems ; 



RECITATIONS FOR FUNERALS. 151 

But in the day of conflict, fear and grief, 
When the strong hand of God, put forth in might, 

Plows up the sub-soil of the stagnant heart, 
And brings the imprisoned truth-seed to the light. 

Wrung from the troubled spirit in hard hours 

Of weakness, solitude, perchance of pain, 
Truth springs, like harvest from the well-plowed field, 

And the soul feels it has not wept in vain. 

The Faithfulness of God. 

Lift thee, pale mourner ; God, with pity tender, 

Bends down to thy low cry; 
He is thy keeper, He is thy defender, 

He guards with sleepless eye. 
The smiling world may cruelly deceive thee, 

And thy poor heart may break, 
But He will never, never, never leave thee, 

And never thee forsake. 

Thou cypress-wreathed, no more mid shadows linger, 

Far from the realms of day ; 
Thy Heavenly Father points with love's own finger, 

The upward, shining way; 
Love unrepaid, Hope unfulfilled may grieve thee, 

Thine idols all may break, 
But He will never, never, never leave thee, 

And never thee forsake. 

Ungranted Prayer. 

We are children, asking of our Father, 

Often through our tears, 
Blessings that would prove to be but burdens 

Far beyond our years ; 
Lifting up white hands athrill with yearning, 

Praying with white lips 
For boon so great the Father dare not grant it, 

Lest the dark eclipse 
Of our joy, let slip because of weakness, 

Drive us from Him wild; — 
So He draws us nearer, nearer, saying, 

"No, my own dear child. " 



152 RECITATIONS FOR FUNERALS. 



Beyond. 

I: seemeth such a little way to me 

Across :: that Strange Country, the Beyond; 

Ani yet not strange— :":: i: lias grown to be 

The home of th ose of whom I un sc : : nd: 

The~ n ike if :rrz fioniHaT rod most dear, 

As journeying friends bring distant countries near. 

So close it lies. that, when my Bight i ; rlear, 

I think I see the brightly gleaming strand: 

I know I feel that those who've gone from here 

Come near enough to touch my groping hand. 

I : ften th ink but for our veiled eye B 

We should find Heaven right 'round about us lies. 

[ cannot make it seem a day to Ires 1 

When from this dear earth I shall journey : at 

To th \: still dt antrj of the dead, 

And join the lost ones a : long dreamed about. 

I lo^r thi b w : rid : yet shall I love to g ] 

And meet the friend! irho wait for me. I know. 

I never stand about a bier and see 
The - hie ~ ell -loved i 

But that I think, "One more to welcome me 
When I shall cross the intervening ; : tee 
Between this land and that one over there; 

r more to make the strange Betovd seem fair," 

An lee to me there is n : sting bo '.eith. 

A:. 1 s ; the gprave has lost its ~: Bt : ry : 

fl in lint i hhmiuc wilh nlwhul rcath, 

And white, set face, a little strit ::' ; 

To find my loved ones waiting on the in ore, 

More beautiful, more precious than before. 

[I have frequently been appliei »py of thrse lines.] 



Satisfied. 

I think that we shail ail b^ satisfied 
Ul : h the other side; that ~e shall see 

What here we long for. was not for our gooo% 
Or that fulfillment may our rlrssihz "r. e. 



RECITATIONS FOR FUNERALS. 



153 



If it was gold we lacked, our Father has 
Enough of that. The very streets are gold 
Of that fair city whitherward we tend, 
Whose glories still remain to us untold. 

If it were fame— ah, what name is so great 
As His? And He has said, "I call you friend." 
Friend of the King ! No greater fame can be, 
And unlike earthly fame, there is no end. 

If it were health— we have the promise sure 
That there shall be no more, no more of pain; 
His hand shall dry our tears, oh, blessed day, 
When we may sigh or weep no more again 1 

If it was home, and we are wandering here, 
Oh, sure, most pleasant will our welcome be; 
For in His house are many mansions kept 
As loving homes, O friend, for you and me I 

If it was love, and some heart hurt our own, 
Up there it will be straightened. We shall know 
His love, and in His tender comfort find 
Heart-warmth and peace— all that we missed below. 

If it were loss, and we our dear ones weep— 
'Tis there they wait: or if our hearts misplaced, 
'Twill be forgotten. In the Heavenly Home 
These old earth-longings will be all erased. 
[This tender and comforting poem is from the pen of Mary Knapp, of 
Palmyra, N. Y.] 



Her Birthday. 

She is at rest, 

In God's own presence blest, 
Whom, while with us, this day we loved to greet; 

Her birthday's o'er, 

She counts the years no more; 
Time's foot-fall is not heard along the golden street. 

When we would raise 

A hymn of birthday praise, 
The music of our hearts is faint and low; 

Fear, doubt and sin 

Makes dissonance within, 
And pure soul-melody no child of earth may know. 



154 RECITATIONS FOR FUNERALS. 

That strange l, new song.'' 

Amid a white-robed throng, 
Is gushing from her harp in liYing tone : 

Her seraph voice, 

Tuned only to rejoice, 
Floats upward to the emerald-arched throne. 

No passing cloud 

Her loveliness may shroud: 
The beauty of her youth may never fade ; 

No line of care 

Her sealed brow may wear; 
The joy-gleam of her eye no dimness e'er may shade. 

No stain is there 

Upon the robes they wear, 
Within the gates of pearl which she hath passed; 

Like woven light, 

All beautiful and bright, 
Eternity upon those robes no shade may cast. 

No sin-born thought 

May in that home be wrought, 
To trouble the clear fountain of her heart; 

No tear, no sigh, 

No pain, no death be nigh 
Where she hath entered in, no more to "know in part.'' 

Her faith is sight, 

Her hope is full delight, 
The shadowy veil of time is rent in twain. 

Her untold bliss— 

What thought can follow this ! 
To her to live was Christ, to die indeed is gain. 

Her eyes have seen 

The King, no veil between, 
In blood-dipped vesture gloriously arrayed. 

No earth-breathed haze 

Can dim that rapturous gaze : 
She sees Him face to face on whom her guilt was laid. 

A little while, 

And she whose loving smile 
Had melted 'neath the touch of lonely woe, 

Shall reach her home 

Beyond the star-built dome ; 
Her anthem they shall swell, her joy they, too, shall know. 



RECITATIONS FOR FUNERALS, 



155 



The Immortality of Love. 

We must not doubt; or fear, or dread, that love for life is only given, 

And that the calm and sainted dead will meet estranged and cold in heaven: 

Oh, love were poor and vain indeed, 

Based on so harsh and stern a creed ! 

True that this earth must pass away., with all the starry worlds of light, 
With all the glory of the day, and calmer tenderness of night; 

For in that radiant home can shine 

Alone the immortal and divine, 

Earth's lower things— her pride, her fame, her science, learning, wealth, and 

power- 
Slow growths that through long ages came, or fruits of some convulsive hour, 

Whose very memory must decay — 

Heaven is too pure for such as they. 

They are complete , their work is done. So let them sleep in endless rest. 
Love's life is only here begun, nor is, nor can be fully blest; 

It has no room to spread its wings 

Amid this crowd of meaner things. 

Just for the very shadow thrown upon its sweetness here below, 
The cross that it must bear alone, and bloody baptism of woe, 

Crowned and completed through its pain, 

We know that it shall rise again. 

—By Adelaide Anne Procter. 



It Is Well. 

"Is it well with thee, and with thy husband, and with the child? 
said, "It is well. 1 '— 2 Kings 4: 26. 

Yes ; it is well ! The evening shadows lengthen ; 

Home's golden gates shine on our ravished sight; 
And though the tender ties we strove to strengthen 

Break one by one— at evening-time 'tis light. 

'Tis well ! The way was often dull and weary ; 

The spirit fainted oft beneath its load; 
No sunshine came from skies all gray and dreary, 

And yet our feet were bound to tread that road. 

'Tis well that not again our hearts shall shiver 
Beneath old sorrows, once so hard to bear; 



And she 



156 SUNDA Y-SCHOOL.. 

That not again beside Death's darksome river 
Shall we deplore the good, the loved, the fair. 

No more with tears, wrought from deep, inner anguish, 
Shall we bewail the dear hopes crushed and gone ; 

No more need we in doubt or fear to languish; 
So far the day is past, the journey done 1 

As voyagers, by fierce winds beat and broken, 
Come into port, beneath a calmer sky, 

So we, still bearing on our brows the token 
Of tempest past, draw to our haven nigh. 

A sweet air cometh from the shore immortal, 
Inviting homeward at the day's decline; 

Almost we see where from the open portal 
Fair forms stand beckoning with their smiles divine. 

'Tis well ! The earth with all her myriad voices 
Has lost the power our senses to enthral; 

We hear, above the tumult and the noises, 
Soft tones of music, like an angel's call. 

'Tis well, O friends ! We would not turn— retracing 
The long, vain years, nor call our lost youth back; 

Gladly, with spirits braced, the future facing, 
We leave behind the dusty, foot worn track. 



SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 



The minister should always attend the Sunday-school, and 
seek to know every child by name. He should explain the les- 
son to the teachers on some stated evening during the week. If 
the superintendent is unable or unwilling to review the lesson 
of the day, the pastor should do it, using the blackboard, and 
carefully simplifying his speech. 

A Prayer for the Teachers: Most merciful God, who art 
the Fountain of all grace, grant, we beseech thee, to the teachers 






S UNDA Y-SCHOOL, 157 



in this school thy gifts of wisdom, gentleness and patience. 
May they find their work a joy, and count all labor light that is 
undertaken out of love toward thee. Guard them from the 
temptation to a careless and half-hearted service. May a con- 
sciousness of the solemn responsibility which is theirs be always 
present with them. Bless their every word to the good of their 
pupils; and may the Holy Spirit so enforce their teachings that 
at least the reward of those who turn many to righteousness 
shall be theirs. All which we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. 

A Prayer for the Children of the School: Almighty 
Father, who hast promised that they who seek thee early shall 
find thee, send on these thy children the grace and blessing of 
thy Holy Spirit; that they, being trained up in the nurture and 
admonition of the Lord, may choose thy way and love it, and 
depart from it no more forever. And we pray that when thou 
makest up thy jewels in thy glorious kingdom, these children 
may be there and may be thine. All of which we ask for the 
sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

It is poor economy to be saving in maps, charts, blackboards, 
lesson leaves, primers, etc., etc. Distribute to each child a Sun- 
day-school paper. Have a good supply of hymnals. Let the 
singing be good, and enough of it. Encourage your teachers to 
love, visit and pray for their pupils. Dispense with godless, 
unconverted teachers. Have a Bible class, and train teachers 
from its members. A live preacher, co-operating with a live 
superintendent, can make a live Sunday-school. No teacher 
should be without a lesson commentary. 

Use reward cards plentifully; have an occasional song service 
or concert exercise. These adjuncts, with faithful, loving 
teaching, will make your school a power for good in the com- 
munity. The pastor should occasionally deliver lectures on the 
art of teaching. 



158 S UGGESTED S TJBJECTS. 

SUGGESTED SUBJECTS 

FOR ADDRESSES TO THE YOUNG, ETC. 

1. Biographical. Shakespeare, Milton, Chaucer, Burns, 
Dickens, Bunyan, Cromwell, Nelson, Tennyson, Luther, Alfred 
the Great, Livingstone, Dr. Franklin, Thos. Jefferson, Washing- 
ton Irving, Washington, John Adams, Lafayette, etc. Use 
Apple ton's Biographical Dictionary, a masterly work. 

II. Historical. History of the Bible [read Wm. Smith or 
Kitto], Julius Caesar [read Froude's life of Caesar], Magna 
Charta, The Reformation, The Discovery of America, African 
Discovery [read Livingstone and Stanley], India [read Macau- 
lay's articles on Lord Clive and Warren Hastings], The French 
Revolution [read Carlyle on this subject], France and the 
Napoleons [read anything but Eeadley on this]. 

III. Scientific. Electricity, Photography, Astronomy and its 
Uses, Human Physiology, The Laws of Sanitation. 

IV. Mechanics. The Steam Engine, The Electric Telegraph, 
Railways, Gas, The Electric Light, Navigation, Cotton Manu- 
factures, Iron Manufactures, Mining, Ship-building, Printing, 
The Telescope, The Mariner's Compass. 

V. 1. The Volcanoes of the World (their position, peculiar- 
ities, stories, legends, etc.). 

2. The Great Rivers of the World (course, peculiarities, sto- 
ries, legends, etc.). 

3. The Mountain Ranges (in much the same way). 

4. The Lakes (in the same method). 

5. The Oceans (in the same method). 

6. The Famous Capitals (in the same method). 

VI. Beligwus. 1. The Famous Men of Scripture. 

2. The Famous Women of Scripture. 

3. The Famous Children of Scripture. 
With lessons from their lives. 

[I have found this a popular course always.] 



SUGGESTED SUBJECTS.. 159 

VII. Famous Artists. Michael Angelo, Leonardi de Vinci, 
Joshua Reynolds, Titian, Holman Hunt and others, with an 
account of their most famous pictures and works. [Good en- 
cyclopedias will put you on the track of all you need to make 
up interesting and instructive lectures.] 

VIII. Famous Musicians. Handel, Bach, Mozart, Hadyn, 
Beethoven, Mendelssohn (see " Great Tone Poets," Bentley). 

IX. Famous Men of all Times. Stephenson, and what he 
did; Watt, Duvoy, Sir John Franklin, Patrick Henry, Elihu 
Burritt, etc. 

Subjects for Special Seasons. 

1. Advent. 1. Prophecies of Christ in O. T.: Seed of Wo- 
man, Gen. 3: 15; Prophet, Deut. 8: 15; Star and Sceptre, Num. 
24: 17; Messiah, Dan. 9: 25; Lawgiver, Isa. 33: 22; Branch, Zee. 
3:8; Desire of all Nations, Hag. 2: 7; Emmanuel, Isa. 7: 14; 
God, Isa. 40: 9; Shepherd, Zee. 2: 16; Wonderful, Isa. 9: 6; the 
Great Assize, Heb. 9: 27; the World Passing Away, 1 John 
2:17. 

2. The Message to the Seven Churches, (a) Ephesus, Rev. 
2:1-7; (b) Smyrna, Rev. 2:8-11; (c) Pergamos, Rev. 2:12-17; 
(d) Thyatyra, Rev. 2:18-29; (e) Sardis, Rev. 3: 1-6; (f) Phil- 
adelphia, Rev. 3: 7-13; (g) Laoclicea, Rev. 3: 14-22. 

3. The Enemies of the Soul. The World, Rom. 12:2; the 
Flesh, Rom. 8: 8; the Devil, 1 Pet. 5: 8. 

4. The Attitude of the Christian to the World. Strangers 
and Pilgrims, 1 Pet. 2: 3; at enmity, Matt. 9: 24, not at home, 
Heb. 13:14. 

II. Easter. 1. The Appearance of Christ after His Resur- 
rection. (1) Mark 16:9-10; (2) Matt. 28:9; (3) Mark 16:12; 
(4) Luke 24: 34; (5) John 20: 19; (6) Mark 16: 14; (7) John 20: 26-29; 
(8) John 21: 1-24; (9) Matt. 28: 16; (10) 1 Cor. 15: 6; (11) 1 Cor. 
15: 7; (12) Luke 24: 50, 51 ; (13) 1 Cor. 15: 8. 

2. Types of Resurrection in O. T. (a) Noah leaving ark; 
(b) Joseph leaving pit and prison; (c) Moses drawn out of the 



160 SUGGESTED SUBJECTS. 

water; (d) Isaac rising from the altar of wood; (e) Daniel 
taken out of the den of lions; (f) the three Hebrew children de- 
livered out of the fiery furnace; (g) Jonah. 

3. Prophecies of the Resurrection in the Psalms. Ps. 16: 10; 
30:3; 41:10; 118:17. , 

[For types read commentary on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus 
and Numbers, by C. H. Macintosh. Every preacher ought to 
own " The Doctrine of a Future Life," by W. R. Alger.] 

III. Christmas, (a) A Call at Bethlehem, Luke 2: 15; (b) A 
Present Delivery, Matt. 1: 18-23 ; Heb. 1: 12. 

IV. End of Year. Fragments, John 6: 5-14. 

V. 'New Year, (a) Numbering our Days, Ps. 90: 12; (b) Spared 
for Another Year, Luke 13: 8. 

[Lent and Good Friday are not observed as sacred seasons by 
our churches. The religious observance of the clays and seasons 
noted under the foregoing heads cannot be proved from Script- 
ure. We are at liberty, however, as Christian ministers, to 
adapt our themes to the wants of our flocks. If we see in them 
a strong disposition to observe Christmas or New Years in an 
innocent way, why not enforce lessons naturally suggested by 
such anniversaries, not as binding by ecclesiastical edict, but 
as a part of our liberty in the Gospel? In communities strongly 
pervaded by the Roman Catholic or Episcopal systems, advant- 
age, it seems to me, may be taken of the Advent, Easter and 
Lenten spirit — which, each in its season, to some extent must 
influence all the minds of that community — to preach the pure 
word of God, only selecting from its wide variety such themes 
as acquire a new attraction from their consonance with the up- 
permost public thought.] 

Subjects for Ministerial Meetings. 

1. Our Plea and Mission. What is the central purpose in our 
work? What are the distinctive features of our plea? In its 
essential elements how does it differ from other reformations? 
What is there in the present state of the religious world to 
justify the movement in which we are engaged? By what 



SUGGESTED SUBJECTS. 



161 



means may we seek its advancement, and what are the promises 
of final success? 

2. Things that are Wanting in our Work. What hinders? 
Let every hindering cause, and every real want, which it is pos- 
sible for us to meet, be clearly and frankly presented, that our 
efficiency may be increased, and greater prosperity attend our 
labors. In examining this, let everything which affects our cause 
be carefully scrutinized— our methods of work, our churches, 
our preachers— in short, every element of weakness and of 
strength, and then let practical remedies be suggested. To do 
this well, there must be extensive observation, clear insight, 
and a well-balanced judgment. 

3. Our Status in this State. This is intended to embrace as 
full and as accurate a statement of our condition in the State 
as can be presented. The number of our churches — their geo- 
graphical distribution — their general condition, etc.? Our 
preachers — their number, influence, efficiency, etc. What has 
been done and what are we now doing? What forces are at 
our command? 

4. The Preacher; his Qualifications and Work. Do the Script- 
ures teach that men are to be set apart to the work of the min- 
istry? What is the nature and extent of this work? What 
qualifications are needed for it? How are men to be selected 
and set apart? When thus selected and set apart, what obliga- 
tion rests upon them, to give themselves wholly to the work, 
and what obligation upon the churches to support them? What 
should be our treatment, and that of our churches, of those who, 
notwithstanding their lack of proper qualifications and Script- 
ural ordination, persist in presenting themselves before the 
public as our preachers? What can be done to increase the 
usefulness of our ministry? 

5. Our Attitude toward Others. What are our true relations 
to the religious denominations in this State? What have we in 
common with them? What should be our general bearing 
toward them? How far may we and should we affiliate with 
them? What attention should be given, in our preaching, to 

(11) 



162 SUGGESTED SUBJECTS. 

the points of difference, and what is the best method of present- 
ing them? In what way can oor plea for union, and the com- 
plete restoration of the Primitive Church, be most successfully 
presented to them? As we stand to-day. is there anything 
either in our teaching or practice which we can abandon for the 
sake of union? 

6. The Care of the Churches. Are our churches in this State 
properly cared for? If not, why not? What responsibility, in 
this matter, rests upon the preachers? What care is needed, 
and how may it be bestowed? What are some of the results 
which must flow from a want of proper care? Is it a wise policy 
to go into a neighborhood and organize a church and leave it 
uncared for? Should we not devote more attention and money 
to fostering our feebler churches? How may we develop the 
spiritual life and increase the efficiency of our churches? 

7. TJie Scripture Doctrine of Church Discipline. What is its 
nature? Notice some erroneous views. What the necessity for 
it? What its purpose? What the different steps to be taken 
before excommunication? By whom? What the nature of ex- 
communication? In what way should a church withdraw? 
What should be the conduct of a church toward one from whom 
it has withdrawn? What should be the conduct of sister 
churches toward him? In what way may he be restored? How 
may better discipline be maintained in our churches? What 
are some of the evils resulting from neglect of proper discipline ? 
In the light of all this, what is our duty? 

S. Our Duty to the Sunday-school Cause. The present state 
of this work in our churches? Its value as an auxiliary to 
preaching? The wonderful improvement in methods and means 
within the recent past? Why are our people not doing more in 
this work? What can ire do? How may we enlist others? 
How may we help those already at work? Our duty to increase 
the circulation of good Sunday-school literature among our 
people? What can we do, through conventions, institutes, etc., 
and by our preaching and example, to awaken a deeper and 
more general interest in this work? What may we expect as 
the legitimate results of faithful work in this held? 



TEMPERANCE. 



163 



TEMPERANCE. 



Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is 
deceived thereby is not wise. — Prov. 20: 1. 

Be not among winebibbei*s; among riotous eaters of flesh: 
for the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and 
drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags. — Prov. 23: 20, 21. 

Wo unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, that puttest thy 
bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest 
look on their nakedness! Thou art filled with shame for gloiy: 
drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered: the cup of 
the Lord's right hand shall be turned unto thee, and shameful 
spewing shall be on thy glory. — Habakkuk 2: 15, 16. 

Wo unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they 
may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine in- 
flame them! And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, 
and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of 
the Lord, neither consider the operation of his hands. Wo unto 
them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to 
mingle strong drink: which justify the wicked for reward, and 
take away the righteousness of the righteous from him ! — Isa. 
5: 11, 12, 22, 23. 

Who hath wo? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who 
hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath red- 
ness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to 
seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, 
when it giveth his color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. 
At last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. — 
Prov. 23: 29-32. 

Judge ye this rather, that no man put a stumbling block in 
his brother's way, or an occasion of falling. It is not good to 
eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor to do anything whereby thy 



164 TEMPEBAXCE. 



brother stnmbleth. Now we that are strong [able to control 
ourselves] ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to 
please ourselves. For Christ also pleased not himself. — Bom. 
:_: 13-21; 15: 1. 

Prater. 

O thou merciful Father, who didst send Jesus into the world 
to save thy people from their sins, keep us forever, we pray 
thee, from the great sin of intemperance. Give us the disposi- 
tion and the power to aid toward repentance and reformation 
those who are already in the toils of the tempter. Stay, we be- 
seech thee, the sad havoc strong drink is making throughout 
our beloved land. Impart wisdom to our lawmakers, that they 
may give us statutes intended to suppress the traffic in strong 
drink; and cause our officials to be vigilant and faithful in car- 
rying out those laws. Bless the instruction in temperance given 
from the platform, in tracts, by our public schools, through our 
newspapers, by the loving voice and the kindly hand. Grant 
thy aid to the churches and Sunday-schools everywhere, that 
they may give forth no uncertain sound, no faltering voice, con- 
cerning this gigantic evil. May they all do our blessed Redeem- 
er's work — lift up the fallen, cheer the faint, rescue the perishing 
and restore the lost. May thy kingdom come and thy will be 
done as in heaven so on earth. In Christ's name. Amen. 

Outline of Sermon — Notes. 

1. The evils growing out of the liquor traffic are legion. 
There is poverty, deepening into destitution and sinking into 
pauperism. The waste of drink. 

2. There is vice and crime of every degree, from petit larceny 
to red-handed murder. Drink inflames the passions. 

3. There is disease, frightful and alarming. Drunkenness 
becomes a disease. The race threatened with permanent in- 
jury. 

4. There are moral and spiritual evils. It is physiologically 



TEMPERANCE. 165 



certain that scars do not grow out. Drinking scars the mind, 
stirles the conscience, and renders the soul callous to good. 

The Bemedy. — 1. Total abstinence on the part of every indi- 
vidual. 

(1) This demanded by irreversible law. Alcohol a poison. 
See experiments of Lalleman, Perrin, Duroy, Bocher, Virchow, 
Morse, Smiles, Figgs, Gordon, Wilson, and other eminent physi- 
cians and physicists. 

(2) The voice of natural law in practical experience declares 
abstinence from alcohol a benefit, except where the system has 
grown to tolerate it from abuse. Even then lk it is robbing 
Peter to pay Paul." See International Review for December, 
1880. Nazarites. All modern intellectual giants have been 
practically abstinent, "teetotalers." 

(3) It is demanded by the Scriptures. 

(a) Priests were forbidden to use it when they ministered be- 
fore the Lord. 

(b) Jewish rulers were forbidden to use it. u It is not for 
kings to drink wine, nor for princes strong drink." 

(c) Bishops, or elders, are " not to be given " to the practice. 

(d) Intoxicating wine forbidden to all. "Look not upon 
the wine when it is red," etc. 

(e) It is denounced as a dangerous evil. Prov. 23: 22; Hab. 
2:5; Eph. 5: 18; Prov. 20: 1, etc. 

(f) It is associated with revolting crimes [Noah, Lot, Nabal, 
Ahasuerus, etc.]. 

5. The liquor traffic is hostile to public rights. See Princeton 
Beview for January, 1881. 

6. It wastes our national resources. See International Be- 
view for December, 1880. 

(1) Supply of food rendered less abundant. 

(2) The State a party to the frustration of the Divine will in 
changing food from its natural to its non-natural use. 

7. The generation of pauperism and crime. Four-lift lis of 
all criminal offences due to drink. 

8. The waste of labor and talent. 



166 THE DISCIPLES OF CHRIST. 

9. It destroys the home, the cornerstone of the State. La- 
ocoon. Artists in human slaughter. 

10. "Roll away the stone" of temptation from before the 
drunkard. 

Attitude of the Church on this Question. 

1. It must oppose, or 

2. Be indifferent, or 

3. Co-operate, or 

4. Lead. 
Which shall it be? 



THE DISCIPLES OF CHRIST. 



1. They aim to restore the doctrine and practice of the Apos- 
tolic Chuch. 

2. They repudiate altogether every form of creed, ecclesias- 
tical order or name apart from the New Testament. 

3. They are striving to bring about and maintain a union of 
believers, and to develop the Church of God in its life, its power 
and work on the earth, as designed by God, without human or 
extra-scriptural devices. 

4. They do not object to statements of belief, but do not con- 
cede to these any authority over the conscience, or any right to 
prescribe terms of fellowship. They acknowledge no spiritual 
Lord but Christ, and no unalterable standard but his Word. 
Among the best and most widely circulated of these statements 
are " Our Position," by the late Isaac Errett, and "What is the 
Christian Church? " by J. S. Lamar. 

The following is a brief attempt at a statement of the faith of 
the Disciples of Christ: 



THE DISCIPLES OF CHRIST. 



167 



1 . They believe that the Holy Scriptures are divinely inspired, 
and are a sufficient rule of faith and practice. 

2. They believe that Jesus was God manifest in the flesh; 
that he died for our sins, according to the Scriptures; that he 
rose from the dead; that he ascended on high, where he ever 
lives to make intercession for his people. 

3. They believe that it is the mission of the Holy Spirit to 
convict the world of sin, of righteousness and judgment, and to 
dwell in the hearts of believers, as their Comforter. 

4. They believe that the Gospel is the power of God unto sal- 
vation to every one that believe th. 

5. They believe that through faith, repentance and baptism 
men appropriate to themselves the salvation wrought out by 
Christ. These constitute the human side of the "redemptive 
scheme, " and mark the sinner's acceptance of the "finished 
work" of Christ. 

6. They believe that it is their privilege and duty to observe 
the Lord's Supper on the first day of the week, and thus show 
the Lord's death till he come. 

7. They believe that the ungodly will be banished forever 
from the presence of the Lord, but that the righteous will enjoy 
glory, honor and immortal life. 

The Practice of the Disciples of Christ. 



1. In admitting believing and penitent persons to baptism 
and church membership, the only article of faith presented for 
their public confession and acceptance is this: " That Jesus is 
the Christ, the Son of God." This is thoroughly understood 
among the Disciples to include not only a renunciation of what- 
ever is wrong in the past life of the confessor, but also his unre- 
served commitment into the hands of God to be built up anew 
after the glorious model left us in the character of Jesus Christ. 

2. In harmony with the custom of the Primitive Church, they 
uniformly practice immersion as the only scriptural action of 
baptism. 



168 THANKSGIVING. 



3. They observe the Lord's Supper, in connection with other 
acts of worship, on every first clay of the week, and regard this 
solemn feast as open to the enjoyment of all believers in Christ. 

4. Respecting church government, they conform to the Con- 
gregational polity, and the "ministry" is composed of bishops 
(or elders), deacons and evangelists. 

5. Their conventions, assemblies, State meetings, etc., are 
not legislative but deliberative bodies, and are held solely for 
co-operative work. 

6. The Disciples began their movement with an earnest plea 
for Christian union, and they have continued to urge that plea 
to the present time. They continue, therefore, to cordially in- 
vite all Christians to unite with them on the pure word of God. 



THANKSGIVING. 



The custom of giving public thanks to God for the blessings 
of the year is as old as history. Three thousand years ago wit- 
nessed the Jewish Feast of the Tabernacles, with its melodious 
choirs, magnificent rituals and picturesque festivities. The 
Jewish nation, to the number of millions, assembled in Jerusa- 
lem and its environs. For seven days the families lived in 
booths made of the palm, the olive and the pine. There were 
grand processions. Hallels were sung, lubebs waved, and the 
silver trumpets led the stately march of choruses in the grandest 
of oratorios the world has ever heard. The Psalms of Thanks- 
giving were sung. It was the Harvest Feast. Its glory passed 
away, but its spirit has entered into the harvest observances of 
most Christian lands. 

The Greeks and Romans had their harvest festivals too — fetes 
of Ceres, the goddess of corn and tillage; offerings to Diana and 
to Jove. 



THANKSGIVING. 



169 



But the Greeks and Romans gave thanks for bloody victories; 
for contests which flattered pride and ambition; for the passing 
away of plagues and storms. 

In the early days of the Puritan colony at Plymouth there 
came a period of sickness, drought and threatened famine. The 
people assembled and prayed for rain. It came, and their crops 
were saved. Then they appointed a day of thanksgiving. This 
was the beginning of the annual Thanksgiving observed in New 
England, but not generally throughout the United States. 

During the great Civil War there came a period of disaster 
and widespread gloom. Fasts were appointed. When the po- 
litical skies began to brighten President Lincoln issued a proc- 
lamation for a National Thanksgiving. This was the beginning 
of the observance of our National Harvest Feast. 

Our Thanksgiving was meant to celebrate as much moral and 
intellectual as material benefits. In offering our gratitude to 
the throne of Heaven for material comforts and blessings, let us 
not forget in our talks to comment upon and give due thanks 
for 

1. The evidences of intellectual and moral advance. 

2. The increasing education and enlightenment of the masses, 
and the consequent steady reduction of our standing army of 
ignorance and crime. 

3. The greater submission to religious ideas of a tolerant and 
liberal yet biblical and elevating character. 

4. The abatement of race and national hostilities, and the 
better accord between nation and nation, and between man and 
man. 

5. The astonishing increase in and the progressive triumph 
of the arts of industry and peace. 

Let the day be one of universal benevolence, the almoner of 
multitudinous charities. 

Let the day be a patriotic one too. Let ministers speak as 
the oracles of God. " Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin 
is a reproach to any people." 

Let the leakages in State and Church be fearlessly pointed 



170 THANKSGIVING. 



out, the sins of the nation freely discussed and the people ex- 
horted to their duty as citizens, if they would preserve and 
transmit the glorious heritage of law and liberty for which they 
have assembled to give thanks. 

Suitable Scriptures. 

O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise 
to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence 
with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with 
psalms. For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above 
all gods. In his hand are the deep places of the earth; the 
strength of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he made it: 
and his hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and 
bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker. For he is 
our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of 
his hand.— Ps. 95: 1-7. 

Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise 
thee. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt 
judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. 
Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. 
Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own 
God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the 
earth shall fear him.— Ps. 67: 3-7. 

O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the 
earth. Sing unto the Lord, bless his name; show forth his sal- 
vation from day to day. Honor and majesty are before him; 
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. Give unto the Lord, 
O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord, glory and 
strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: 
bring an offering, and come into his courts. O worship the 
Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth. 
Say among the heathen that the Lord reigneth; the world also 
shall be established that it shall not be moved: he shall judge 
the people righteously. Let the heavens rejoice, and let the 






THANKSGIVING. 171 



earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. Let 
the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees 
of the wood rejoice before the Lord; for he cometh, for he 
cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with right- 
eousness, and the people with his truth. — From the 96th Psalm. 

O God, rny heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even 
with my glory. Awake, psaltery and harp ; I myself will awake 
early. I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: and I will 
sing praises unto thee among the nations. For thy mercy is 
great above the heavens: and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds. 
Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; and thy glory above 
all the earth. That thy beloved may be delivered: save with 
thy right hand, and answer me. — Ps. 108: 1-6, 

How rich thy gifts, almighty King ! 
From thee our public blessings spring: 

The extended trade, the fruitful skies, 
The treasures liberty bestows, 
Th' eternal joys the Gospel shows, 

All from thy boundless goodness rise. 

With grateful hearts, with joyful tongues, 
To God we raise united songs ; 

Here still may God in mercy reign, 
Crown our just councils with success, 
With peace and joy our borders bless, 

And all our sacred rights maintain ! 

Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that made us, and 
not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pas- 
ture. 

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts 
with praise: give thanks unto him, and bless his name. 

For the Lord is good; his mercy endureth forever, and his 
faithfulness unto all generations. 

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: who 
forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; who 
redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with 
loving kindness and tender mercies. 



172 THANKSGIVING. 

Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me bless his 
holy name. 

What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward 
me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name 
of the Lord.— From Psa. 100, 103, 116. 

A Prayer. 

With one consent and with glowing hearts behold thy people 
here, O God, to give thee thanks where praise is wont to be 
made. We praise thee for the care thou hast exercised over us 
during the past year. And while we rejoice that the reaper 
filleth his hand, we gratefully acknowledge that the seed of the 
sower, and bud and bloom and rain and sunshine and fruitful 
season, are all, O God, from thee, the giver of every good and 
perfect gift. Thou wast our fathers' God, and thou hast ever 
been with us, bestowing upon us numberless blessings. To thee 
we owe our liberty of thought and speech, our exemption from 
harassing tyranny, our freedom of worship, our dear domes- 
tic ties. O keep us ever mindful of thine infinite love, of thy 
general providence, and perfect our confidence in thy special 
watch-care over thy people. Forgive our sins as a nation, and 
our individual sins of omission and commission. Impress 
upon our minds the fact that in return for thy favors, thou, 
O Father, askest the love and obedience of thy children — that 
they should worship thee in spirit and in truth, yea, in the 
beauty of holiness, of holy endeavor after holy living. O may 
we worship thee, not only in melodious praise and devout 
prayer, but in lives of such consecration that they themselves 
are prayers which rise like fountains night and day. May the 
beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and may we remem- 
ber that in proportion as we are faithful to thee we shall be 
truly faithful to country and friends, and truly generous in 
all our sympathies and charities. 
Hear us for Jesus' sake. Amen. 



THANKSGIVING. 173 



Themes Suggested. 

Gratitude proclaimed. Mark 5: 30-38. 

Forgotten mercies remembered. Gen. 41: 9-12. 

Thanksgiving even in perilous times. Dan. 6: 10. 

The proclamation of the Gospel an occasion for thanksgiving. 
Acts 20: 24. 

Are we a wise people? Deut. 4: 6. 

[Consider (1) the trade in demoralizing literature; (2) the 
great passion for amusements, some of a doubtful and some of 
a not doubtful character; (3) the practice of gambling in many 
forms, as speculating in grain and cotton "futures," mining 
stocks, taking chances in lotteries and even in church fairs; 
(4) the tolerance of the liquor traffic; (5) the apathy of the peo- 
ple over the purchase of votes; (6) the increase of Sunday dese- 
cration; (7) the growth of caste-ism based upon the possession 
of wealth; (8) the spread of the spirit of monopoly, etc.] 

The proper use of blessings the best evidence of gratitude. 
Luke 12: 48. 

A Wise and Understanding People. 

Deut. 4:6. 

The " nation whose God is the Lord " will 

1 . Apprehend its destiny as transcending the mere possession 
and enjoyment of wealth and power. 

2. Must make freedom attractive to all nations. 

3. Must prove that the people rule themselves by having an 
honest ballot and honorable officials in all grades of office. 

4. Must see to it that the cities do not corrupt the whole 
country by debauching the State legislatures through boodle 
supplied by breweries and barrooms. 

5. Must make its free church stronger in all the elements 
that purge and vitalize than the established churches of other 
climes. 

6. Must educate by persuasion or compulsory means the 



174 THANKSGIVING. 



mass of dense ignorance and brutalization thronging to our 
shores. "When a lion eats [and digests] the ox, the ox becomes 
lion," is a true proverb. But if the ox should be sick, what 
then? And if the lion's power of assimilation is overtaxed, 
what then? Let the church and school work then. They are 
the nation's hope. 

7. Must labor to put Christ into the National Temple. The 
Master with his whip of cords will drive out all abuses. 

8. Must labor to have the same standard of right for the na- 
tion as for the individual. The nation must do right for right's 
sake. Nothing can be right in a nation which is wrong in an 
individual. 

9. Must teach high ideals, stimulate a true patriotism, and 
teach the sublimity of self-sacrifice for a nation which is man's 
last experiment in self-government. 

10. Must sift its immigration, welcoming all who come to 
get and do good, and reject unsparingly those who come as 
beasts and birds of prey, without desire or capacity to become 
living members of the national organism, etc., etc. 

Remarks. 

The three great national feasts of the Jews were all associated 
with harvests. 

1. The Passover, instituted in commemoration of deliverance 
from the death-angel, was distinguished also by the offering of 
the first fruits of the barley harvest. Lev. 23: 10-16. This was 
observed in March-April (in the Jewish month corresponding 
to parts of those two months). 

2. At Pentecost, fifty days afterward, the first fruits of the 
wheat harvest were offered. Lev. 23: 15-18. This festival was 
called the "feast of harvest;" also the "day of first fruits." 
Ex. 23: 16; Num. 28:26. 

3. The Feast of Tabernacles, or Ingatherings, was in the sev- 
enth month after the vintage, at the close of all the harvests. 
Ex. 33: 16; 34: 22; Deut. 16: 13-15 It was the "Harvest Home." 



THANKSGIVING. 175 



These harvest seasons recognized God as the one who gave 
rain and fruitful seasons, and filled all hearts with food and 
gladness. They are recognized by St. Paul as divine witnesses 
of God's being and providence. Acts 14: 16, 17. 

Reflecting upon these divinely appointed feasts, we may re- 
mark: 

I. That the bounty of God to his creatures was designed to 
remind them of their duty to be bountiful also. At none of 
these feasts did his people appear empty handed before him . 
Deut. 16:16. 

II. One of these seasons in particular was characterized by 
free-will offerings for the benefit of the Levite, the stranger, the 
fatherless, the widow and the servant. Deut. 16: 10-12. See 
also Deut. 26:1-15. 

III. They were required also to leave the gleanings of the 
harvest for the poor. Ex. 19: 9, 10; 23: 22; Deut. 24:19-22. Thus 
God's people were taught to be grateful dispensers, as stewards 
of God, of the bounty given to them. 

IV. There is a spiritual seedtime and harvest. Gal. 6: 7-10. 
Let it not be overlooked that doing good is u sowing unto the 
spirit,'' and that from a life of righteousness and benevolence 
we are to gather fruit unto life eternal. 1 Tim. 6: 17-19. And 
our reaping will be according to our sowing. 2 Cor. 9: 6-15. 

V. Let not the Jew shame us who wear the name Christian. 
Go home and partake of your good things with joy, but remem- 
ber that the poor are with you always. " Send a portion to 
him that has nothing," and let him rejoice that God is in you of 
a truth. 



REGULATIONS FOR DELIBERATIVE 
ASSEMBLIES. 



Organization. 

1. Bodies that hold stated meetings, such as boards, scien- 
tific associations, and Hie like, when assembled according to 
appointment, are called to order by the Chairman, and then, if 
a prescribed number, called a quorum, is present (to be ascer- 
tained either by inspection or calling the roll), they may proceed 
to business in the usual course. 

2. In ecclesiastical bodies which meet annually or at longer 
stated intervals the officers of the last session serve until new 
ones are elected. The Moderator or President calls the body 
to order at the time designated,, and the election of officers is 
usually the first business. This was formerly the almost invari- 
able custom, but latterly it is growing in practice to elect 
officers for the next ensuing session before a deliberative body 
adjourns. This practice is salutary for the reasons that it gives 
time for the heat engendered by strife and rivalry to disappear, 
and moreover enables the officials elect to read up for the duties 
incident to their positions. 

3. When new bodies meet, such as mass-meetings, conven- 
tions called for special purposes, etc., any one may call the 
meeting to order when the time designated arrives. He may 
nominate some person as Chairman, or ask the assembly to 
nominate, and put the nomination to vote. The Chairman so 
elected takes his seat and completes the organization by calling 
for the nomination and election of a Clerk, and other officers if 
necessary. When this is done, he states the object of the meet- 
ing, or calls upon some other person to do it, and indicates the 
course of business. If the body is large or the business specially 
important, this first organization should be a temporary one. 

(177) 



17 S REGULATIONS FOR 

The person nominated and elected temporary chairman sh 

at once appoint a committee to recommend permanent 
officers. The election is usually by ball : When the re- 
sult is announced the : ry chairman appoints a com- 
mittee of one or more to conduct the Chairman-elect to his 
position. Bel : r :- taking Lis seat the new M lei ;.: : r, Preside 
Chairman or Speaker usually returns thanks for the honor 
bestowed, and invokes the assistance of the assembly in his 
efforts to secure the objects for which they have assembled. 
During the absence of the C mmittee >nNc minati ms it is usual 
to entertain the assembly by speeches from distinguished 
well-informed members. This is the invariable rule in cert 
conv; I foi BV1 

4. In represent s, composed of delegates from 

other bodies, immediately after organization the presiding 
officer calls for the credentials of the delegates present : 
which the Clerk makes an accurate list, so as to know who 
a right to a seat and a vote in the meeting. 

The Presiding Officer. 

It is the duty of the presiding officer (by whatever name 
knowm to maintain order in the assembly, and so direct the 
course of pro; sdings as a : secure the object contemplate 

'When brought into doubt as to his manner of proceeding, he 
should remember that the purpose of all parliamentary forms 
and rules is to ascertain and effectuate the will of the assembly, 

tie r than t ld it: to f and not obstruct the ex- 

sense. The Chairman states all motions 
when made, puts them to vote, and announces the result. He 
decides points of order, and names committees when so direct 

the body. It falls to the duty of the Chair to receive and 
announce communications to the assembly; to give information 
on points of order; to authenticate by signature the acts of the 
body, and in general to stand for and represent the asg 
If necessary for him to leave the chair, the Vice-President, if 



DELIBERATIVE ASSEMBLIES. 179 

there be one, takes his place; if not, and his absence be only 
temporary, he asks some member to occupy the chair till his 
return. If his absence is to be protracted, he requests the body 
to choose a Chairman in his place. 

The Secretary. 

The duty of the Secretary is to make and keep an accurate 
record of the proceedings of the meeting; to have charge of all 
papers and documents belonging to it; to read whatever is re- 
quired to be read before the assembly; to call the roll of mem- 
bers, and to furnish, when required, any information which the 
records contain. He is expected to notify committees of their 
appointment, and to join with the Chair in authenticating all 
the proceedings by his signature. 

Members. 

All members have an equal privilege of submitting, explain- 
ing and advocating propositions. 

Personalities and discourteous remarks should not be in- 
dulged in. Members should rise to speak, and show that respect 
for the Chairman which his office deserves. If more than one 
member rise to speak at the same time, the Chairman has the 
privilege of recognizing the one whom the assembly elects 
to hear. In case of simultaneous application for the privilege 
of being heard, it is customary to accord the privilege of recog- 
nition to the one who is known to entertain views opposed to 
those of the last speaker, or to the member most distant from 
the Moderator's chair. 

Strict attention should be given to the deliberations. Conver- 
sation among members and all unnecessary noise should be 
avoided. Any member considering himself aggrieved by a 
decision of the Chairman has the privilege of appeal to the 
assembly, and the question on each appeal shall be taken with- 
out debate. No member should decline voting on any question 
unless excused by the assembly. 



180 REGULATIONS FOR 

Every proposition before the assembly should be reduced to 
writing, at the request of the Chairman or of any member. 

Order of Business. 

1. If the meeting be a stated one, the order of business is 
usually: First, Reading and approving (or disapproving) the 
minutes. Second, Unfinished business, or that outlined on the 
minutes, including the reports of committees in their order. 
Third, New business, which may be proposed by any member. 

2. If the meeting be a special one, the object and order of 
business may be set forth in the call by which it is convened; 
in which case the Chairman states it, and the deliberations pro- 
ceed. Or the Chairman may state it informally from his own 
knowledge of it; or a committee may be appointed to prepare 
an order of business. Boards usually have their order pre- 
scribed, which order should be followed. 

Quorum. 

1. In all deliberative assemblies it is understood that the 
votes of a majority of members present shall carry a question. 

2. In constitutional changes, however, and other important 
questions, it is common to require a vote of two-thirds or three- 
fourths of those voting for a decision. 

3. Boards, standing committees, and some other bodies, 
usually agree that no business shall be done unless there is 
present a certain number designated and called a quorum. 

4. While a strict majority decides all questions of ordinary 
character, yet in churches and religious assemblies all important 
decisions should have the general concurrence of the body, and 
not be held by a mere majority. 

Motions. 

1. All business should be presented by a motion, and in 
writing, if so required. Properly the motion should be made 



DELIBERA TIVE A SSEMBLIES. 181 

by one member and seconded by another. But routine business 
may by general consent pass to a vote without a second. 

2. No discussion can properly be had until the motion is 
made, seconded and distinctly stated by the Chairman. 

3. A motion cannot be withdrawn after it has been discussed, 
except by unanimous consent of the body. 

4. A motion, having been discussed, must be put to vote, 
unless withdrawn, laid on the table or postponed. 

5. A motion lost should not be recorded, except so ordered 
by the body at the time. 

6. A motion lost should not be renewed at the same meeting, 
except by unanimous consent of the body. 

7. A motion should contain but one distinct proposition or 
question. If it contains more, it must, at the request of any 
member, be divided, and the questions acted on separately. 

8. Only one question can properly be before an assembly at 
the same time. No second motion can be allowed to interrupt 
one already under debate, except a motion to amend, to substi- 
tute, to commit, to postpone, .to lay on the table, for the previous 
question, or to adjourn, 

9. These subsidiary motions, just named, cannot be inter- 
rupted by any other motion; nor can any other be applied to 
them, except that to amend, which may be done by specifying 
some time, place or purpose. 

10. Nor can these motions interrupt or supersede each other; 
only that a motion to adjourn is always in order, except while 
one has the floor or a question is being taken. 

Amendments. 

1. Amendments may be made to resolutions or motions in 
three ways: by omitting, by adding or by substituting words or 
sentences. 

2. There may be an amendment to an amendment, but not 
an amendment to that amendment. 

3. No amendment should be made which essentially changes 
the meaning or design of the original resolution. 



182 REGULATIONS FOR 

4. But a substitute may be offered which may change the 
meaning of the resolution and question under debate. 

5. The inconsistency of a proposed amendment with one 
which has already been adopted is a ground for its rejection by 
the assembly, upon a rote, but not by the Chairman. 

6. The amendment must first be discussed and decided; and 
then the original resolution as amended. 

Voting. 

1. The question is put to vote by the Chairman, having first 
distinctly restated it, that all may clearly understand how and 
on what they vote. First the affirmative, then the negative is 
called; each so deliberately as to give all an opportunity of 
voting. He then distinctly announces whether the motion is 
carried or lost. 

2. Voting is done either by u aye" and u no" or by raising 
the hand, or by standing to be counted, or by ballot, or by a 
division of the house, the affirmative taking one side, and the 
negative the other, until counted; or by calling the "ayes" and 
"nays" the Clerk reading the names of the members, and each 
answering with his vote. The first method is the more com- 
mon. The last two are resorted to chiefly in legislative assem- 
blies. 

3. If the vote as announced by the Moderator is doubted, it 
is usual to call it the second time, generally by counting. 

4. All members should vote, unless for reasons excused. 

5. The presiding officer usually votes when the question is 
taken by ballot; otherwise it is not customary for him to vote, 
though he has the right. Where the assembly is equally divided, 
he may, if so disposed, give the casting vote. 

6. When the meeting votes by ballot, as is usually done on. 
important questions, tellers are appointed by the Chair to dis- 
tribute, collect and count the ballots. 

7. A person not present when the question is taken cannot 
give his vote. 

8. Before the negative is taken, a member may rise and 






DELIBERATIVE ASSEMBLIES. 183 

speak or propose amendments, and thus renew the debate. 
But in modes of taking the question when the vote begins on 
both sides at once, the debate cannot be renewed, and an at- 
tempt to speak is out of order. 

9. If a question arise upon a point of order, e. g., the right 
of a member to vote while the division is taking place, the 
Chair must decide peremptorily, subject to the correction of 
the assembly after the division is over. 

10. A proposition made to a deliberative assembly is called 
a motion; when propounded to the assembly for acceptance or 
rejection, it is denominated a question; when adopted, it be- 
comes the order, resolution or vote of the assembly (in legislative 
bodies, a statute). 

Committees. 

1. Committees are nominated by the Chairman, at the re- 
quest of the meeting, or by the members; and their nomination 
is then confirmed by a vote of the body. 

2. Any matter of business, or subject under debate may be 
referred to a committee, with or without instructions. The 
committee make their report, which is the result of their inves- 
tigations; the body then takes action on the report and the 
recommendations it may contain. 

3. The report of a committee is accepted by a vote, which 
acknowledges the service of the committee, and takes the report 
for action before the body. Afterwards any distinct recom- 
mendation contained in the report is acted on, and may be 
adopted or rejected. 

4. Frequently, however, when the recommendations of the 
committee are of trifling moment, or likely to be generally 
acceptable, the report is accepted and adopted by the same 
vote. 

5. A report may be re-committed to the committee, or that 
committee discharged and another appointed for the same pur- 
pose, with or without instructions, for a further consideration 



184 REGULATIONS FOE 

of the subject, so as to present it in a form more likely to meet 
the concurrence of the body. 

6. A committee with power to dispose conclusively of the 
business intrusted to it may be appointed. 

7. The first named in the appointment of a committee is by 
courtesy considered the Chairman, but the committee have the 
right to appoint their own Chairman. 

8. The member who moves the appointment of a committee 
for a special purpose, is usually, out of courtesy, named Chair- 
man of the committee when appointed. 

9. Committees for business protracted in its nature report 
progress from time to time, and are continued until their final 
report is made, or their appointment expires by limitation. 

10. A committee is discharged by a vote when its business is 
done and its report accepted. But usually, in routine business, 
a committee is considered as discharged by the acceptance of 
its report. 

11. Committees may receive instructions when the business 
is given in charge, or at any stage of its progress, or be allowed 
discretionary power. 

13. The doings of a committee, when adopted, or agreed to 
in the final question upon a report, become the action of the 
assembly. 

Standing Committees. 

A committee appointed to act for a given period, or during 
the recess of the body, is called a standing committee. It has 
charge of a certain department of business assigned by the 
body, and acts either with power in the final disposition of that 
business, or under instructions, in preparing it for the action of 
the body. A standing committee is substantially a minor board, 
and has its own Chairman, Secretary, records and times of 
meeting. 






DELIBERATIVE ASSEMBLIES. 185 

Committee of the Whole. 

When an assembly desires to consider a subject in a manner 
less formal and restricted than can be done in its ordinary 
proceedings, it may resolve itself into a committee of the whole 
for that purpose. This is done by a vote to go into a committee 
of the whole; and when the specified time arrives, the presiding 
officer names some member to take the chair, the business is 
stated, and the body, as committee, proceeds to its considera- 
tion, governed by the ordinary rules, except the Chairman has 
the same right of debate as the members; speakers are not re- 
stricted as to time; the previous question cannot be called; no 
committees can be appointed; no other business than that 
assigned can be considered; the committee cannot adjourn, but 
rise, when its time has expired, and ask permission of the 
assembly to sit again, if its business is not finished. 

When the committee rises, the presiding officer of the body 
again takes his seat, and the Chairman of the committee reports 
the result of its deliberations. This form of committe is seldom 
resorted to, except in legislative bodies. 

Appeal. 

The presiding officer announces all votes, and decides all 
questions as to rules of proceeding and order in debate. But 
any member who is dissatisfied with his decisions may appeal 
to the body. The presiding officer then puts the question, 
44 Shall the decision of the chair be sustained ?" This vote, 
whether negative or affirmative, is final on the point. The 
right of appeal is undeniable, but should not be too freely used. 

Previous Question. 

Debate may be cut short by a vote to take the previous ques- 
tion. This means that the previons, original or main question 
under discussion be immediately voted on, regardless of 



186 REGULATIONS FOR 

amendments, and secondary questions, and without further de- 
bate. 

2. If the motion for the previous question be carried, then 
the main question must be immediately taken, without further 
debate. 

3. If the motion for the previous question be lost, the debate 
proceeds, as though no such motion had been made. 

4. If the motion for the previous question be lost, it cannot 
be renewed with reference to the same question during that 
session. » 

Lay on the Table. 

1. Immediate and decisive action on any question under de- 
bate may be deferred by a vote to lay on the table the resolu- 
tion pending. This disposes of the whole question for the pres- 
ent, and ordinarily is in effect a final dismissal of it. But any 
member has the right, subsequently, to call it up by a motion. 
The body decides whether it will, or will not, take it up. 

2. Sometimes, however, a resolution is laid on the table for 
the present, or until a specified time, to give place to other 
business necessary to be done. 

Postponement. 

A simple postponement is for a specified time or purpose, the 
business to be resumed when this time or purpose is reached. 
But a question indefinitely postponed is considered as fully dis- 
missed. It is a general rule that subsidiary motions, such as to 
lay on the table, for the previous question, or amendment, can- 
not be applied to each other. The exceptions to this rule are 
that motions to postpone, to commit, or to amend a principal 
question maybe amended; but subsidiary motions can never be 
applied to dispose of or suppress each other. 

Undebatable Motions. 
1. Certain motions, when once before the body, must be 



DELIBERATIVE ASSEMBLIES. 187 

taken without discussion. These are: (1) The previous ques- 
tion; (2) for indefinite postponement; (3) to commit; (4) to lay 
on the table; (5) to adjourn. 

2. But when these motions are modified by some condition 
of time, place, or purpose, they become debatable, and subject 
to the rules of other motions. 

3. A body is, however, competent, by a vote, to allow de- 
bate on all motions. 

Motion to Reconsider. 

1. A motion to reconsider a motion previously passed, must 
be made by one who voted for that motion when passed. 

2. If the body decides to reconsider, then the motion or res- 
olution so reconsidered is placed before them, as previous to its 
decision, and may be discussed, rejected, or adopted. 

Profitless or Foreign Questions. 

If when a question is introduced a member objects to its dis- 
cussion as foreign, profitless, or contentious, the chairman 
should at once put the question, "Shall this motion be dis- 
cussed?" and if decided in the negative, the subject must be 
dismissed. 

Order of the Day. 

The body may decide to take up some particular business at 
a specified time. That business thereby becomes the order of 
the day for the time specified, and, when the hour arrives, must 
be taken up by the call of the chairman, or any member, with 
or without a vote, all pending business being postponed in con- 
sequence. 

Point of Order. 

Any member who supposes that a speaker is out of order, or 
that the discussion is proceeding improperly, may at any time 



188 REGULATIONS FOB 

rise to a point of order. He must distinctly state his question, 
or objection, which the presiding officer will decide. 

Privileges. 

Questions relating to the rights and privileges of members are 
of primary importance, and until disposed of, take precedence 
of all other business, and supersede all other motions except 
that of adjournment. 

Rule Suspended. 

A rule of order may be suspended by a vote of the body, to 
allow the transaction of business, which could not otherwise be 
done without a violation of such rule. 

Filling Blanks. 

Where different numbers are suggested for filling blanks, the 
highest number, greatest distance, and longest time are usually 
voted on first. 

Adjournment. 

1. A simple motion to adjourn is always in order, except 
while a member is speaking, or when taking a vote; it takes 
precedence of all other motions, and is not debatable. 

2. In some deliberative bodies a motion to adjourn is in or- 
der while speaking or voting is going on, the business to stand, 
on re-assembling, precisely as when adjournment took place. 

3. A body may adjourn to a specified time. But if no time 
is mentioned, the fixed or usual time of meeting is understood. 
If there be no fixed or usual time, then an adjournment with- 
out date is equivalent to a dissolution. 

Miscellaneous. 

1. In adopting rules of business, it is usual to provide for 
the mode of their amendment, suspension, or repeal. Where 



DELIBERATIVE ASSEMBLIES. 189 

there is no provision, a rule cannot be suspended in a particu- 
lar case, except by general consent. 

2. When any existing rules of proceeding are disregarded or 
infringed, any member has a right to require the enforcement 
of the rule, without debate or delay, it then being too late to 
alter or suspend it for that particular case. 

3. All questions should be decided by a majority of votes, 
unless by special provision less than a majority be allowed or 
more than a majority required to effect a decision. 






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